Skip to main content

How to watch NASA’s first space tourism launch to the ISS today

NASA is about to embark on its first space tourism mission to the International Space Station (ISS), and you can watch the entire event as it happens.

Ax-1 Mission | Launch

Organized by Texas-based Axiom Space and using SpaceX hardware, the 10-day mission will launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at lunchtime on Friday, April 8.

Recommended Videos

The crew comprises Canadian investor and philanthropist Mark Pathy, American entrepreneur Larry Connor, and former Israeli Air Force pilot Eytan Stibbe, together with mission commander and former NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Pathy, Connor, and Stibbe have reportedly paid an astonishing $55 million for the trip of a lifetime.

The crewmembers have undergone months of intensive training for the Ax-1 mission and will spend their time in orbit conducting scientific research as well as outreach and commercial activities.

What to expect

Multiple cameras will livestream Friday’s events at the launch site. It’s likely to include the spacefarers making their to the Crew Dragon capsule, taking their seats, and making final preparations for the all-important launch that will see SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9 rocket blast the capsule and crew toward the ISS.

The Crew Dragon spacecraft will arrive at the space station early on Saturday, April 9.

How to watch

The Ax-1 mission will launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 11:17 a.m. ET (8:17 a.m. PT) on Friday, April 8.

You can watch events by firing up the video player embedded at the top of this page, or by visiting SpaceX’s live feed, which will carry the same content. The broadcast will start at around 7:45 a.m. ET (4:45 a.m. PT).

Changes to the schedule could occur due to poor weather conditions or last-minute technical issues. Check NASA’s Twitter feed for the latest updates.

Docking with the ISS is expected to take place at around 6:45 a.m. ET (3:45 a.m. PT) on Saturday, April 9. The livestream will include the hatch opening and welcoming ceremony as the Ax-1 crew enters the ISS for the first time.

To get you in the mood for the launch of Ax-1, check out NASA’s recently released cinematic trailer for the upcoming mission.

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)…
How to watch SpaceX’s first-ever spacewalk from a Crew Dragon
The Polaris Dawn Crew Dragon spacecraft as it will look in orbit.

[UPDATE: The spacewalk will begin a little later than originally planned, and the live stream will now start at 4:55 a.m. ET.]

Two non-professional astronauts are about to conduct the first-ever spacewalk from a Crew Dragon spacecraft and also the first-ever commercial spacewalk.

Read more
How to watch NASA’s oldest active astronaut launch to the ISS on Wednesday
NASA astronaut Don Pettit.

NASA Astronaut Don Pettit Soyuz MS-26 Launch

Don Pettit isn't your average senior citizen. Instead of enjoying life in the slow lane, he's getting ready for a rocket ride to the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday.

Read more
ISS astronaut’s stunning time-lapse video includes the Milky Way
An image taken from the ISS showing featuring Earth, an aurora, the Milky Way, and the station itself.

A NASA astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) has shared a breathtaking time-lapse video featuring Earth, an aurora, the Milky Way, and the station itself.

Matthew Dominick, who’s been on the orbital outpost since March, shared the amazing 27-second sequence (below) on social media on Sunday.

Read more