Here's How to Watch NASA's Historic SpaceX Launch Today

SpaceX is about to make history — again.

Ready for Liftoff

SpaceX is set to make history this evening with its Crew-1 launch. If successful, it could mark the first time an operational crew of astronauts has launched to the International Space Station from American soil since the retirement of the Space Shuttle program in 2011.

Liftoff is slated for 7:49 pm Eastern time from launch pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. As always, the exact time will depend on the weather — and SpaceX is estimating a 50 percent chance that the launch will go off as planned.

Both NASA and SpaceX will provide live coverage of the event starting at 3:30 pm Eastern time. You can stream NASA's video here:

 

Itinerary

The crew of four includes NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, as well as Soichi Noguchi, from Japan's space agency JAXA.

It's the second time a SpaceX Crew Dragon will lift off with passengers on board. In May, the Crew Dragon spacecraft, later dubbed "Endeavour," carried NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the ISS.

Both astronauts made it safely back down to Earth in early August.

READ MORE: SpaceX Is Ready to Launch Its First Official Crewed Mission [Wired]

More on the launch: The Space Station Is About to Be so Crowded That One Astronaut Will Have to Sleep in the SpaceX Capsule