Skip to main content

Watch SpaceX ready its rocket and astronaut spacecraft for launch

SpaceX is just a few days away from sending its Crew Dragon capsule to space for the very first time with astronauts aboard.

The highly anticipated Demo-2 mission, which is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, May 27, is also notable for being the first astronaut launch from American soil since the final Space Shuttle mission nearly a decade ago.

NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley will be aboard the spacecraft, which will dock late next week with the International Space Station.

On Thursday the SpaceX team tweeted a time-lapse video of the Falcon 9 rocket, complete with the Crew Dragon at the top, getting set up at Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida — the very same spot from which Atlantis launched in 2011 in a mission that marked the end of NASA’s Space Shuttle program.

In the video (above) we can see the rocket raised into position before the crew access bridge swings around to connect with the Crew Dragon.

Earlier in the day, SpaceX tweeted a set of close-up photos showing a gleaming Crew Dragon in the hangar at Launch Complex 39A.

In April, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine made the unprecedented move of asking people to stay away from the launch site to prevent crowds from gathering as part of ongoing measures designed to combat the spread of the coronavirus. Florida officials have since lifted some of its lockdown restrictions, though the state still asks that older and high-risk residents stay home as much as possible, and for people to avoid congregating in public spaces where social distancing isn’t possible.

Assuming the weather holds and there are no technical glitches between now and T-minus zero, you’ll be able to enjoy the much-anticipated launch live online on Wednesday. Several pre- and post-launch events will also be streamed live online. Here’s everything you need to know.

Editors' Recommendations

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Watch this Japanese rocket explode just seconds after launch
Japan's Kairos rocket explodes seconds after launch.

A Japanese rocket exploded just seconds after launching on its maiden flight on Wednesday. The vehicle was uncrewed and no one was hurt in the incident.

Footage of the launch, which was supposed to deploy a government test satellite, shows the 18-meter-tall Kairos rocket erupting into a huge fireball just five seconds after getting airborne. Burning debris falling to the ground also caused a blaze back at the launch site.

Read more
SpaceX’s mighty Starship rocket stacked for 3rd test flight
SpaceX's Starship spacecraft stacked atop the Super Heavy booster ahead of its third test flight.

SpaceX's Starship spacecraft stacked atop the Super Heavy booster ahead of its third test flight. SpaceX

SpaceX has stacked the Starship rocket in preparation for its third test flight.

Read more
NASA’s Crew-7 astronauts splash down safely off the coast of Florida
Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov, left, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa are seen inside the SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship MEGAN shortly after having landed in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, Tuesday, March 12, 2024. Moghbeli, Mogensen, Furukawa, and Borisov are returning after nearly six-months in space as part of Expedition 70 aboard the International Space Station.

NASA's Crew-7 mission has splashed down without incident off the coast of Florida, with the four astronauts on board returning safely from the International Space Station (ISS). The crew spent a total of 199 days orbiting the Earth and are now headed to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to rest and recover.

The crew traveled in a SpaceX Dragon capsule that undocked from the ISS on Monday, March 11, and splashed down at 5:47 a.m. ET on Tuesday, March 12. The group arrived at the station in late August 2023, and spent their time in orbit performing research and maintenance tasks.

Read more