NASA and SpaceX Finally Choose Date for Historic Astronaut Launch

Mark your calendars.

Mark Your Calendars

NASA and SpaceX have officially set the launch date for Crew-1, the first-ever operational "shift-change" mission involving SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft, for November 14.

The original launch date has shifted around several times. Following the successful Demo-2 mission this summer, NASA had tentatively set the date for late August. Further delays pushed it to "no earlier than late September," before being moved to October 23, and then October 31.

Problems involving the first-stage engine gas generators on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket used to launch the capsule forced NASA to push back the date in mid-October.

Save the Date

The upcoming mission will carry four astronauts — Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker from NASA and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) mission specialist Soichi Noguchi — to the International Space Station from Cape Canaveral in Florida.

Liftoff is scheduled for 7:49 pm Eastern time.

Tested and Ready

Crew-1 follows the success of Demo-2, the first time American astronauts launched from US soil since the retirement of the Space Shuttle program in 2011. NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley splashed down in the Atlantic on August 2 after spending several weeks on board the space station.

A teleconference tomorrow afternoon will discuss the upcoming launch, including results from SpaceX tests involving the Merlin engines used to propel the spacecraft.

READ MORE: NASA, SpaceX Invite Media to Crew-1 Mission Update, Target New Launch Date [NASA]

More on the mission: NASA Announces Crew For Upcoming SpaceX Mission