NASA and SpaceX Targeting for Sunday Evening to Launch Crew-1 Astronauts to Space Station
By NASA // November 15, 2020
NASA and SpaceX are now targeting 7:27 p.m. EST Sunday, Nov. 15
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – NASA and SpaceX are now targeting 7:27 p.m. EST Sunday, Nov. 15, for liftoff of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission to fly astronauts from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to the International Space Station.
Teams moved the launch by one day because of onshore winds and to enable recovery of the first stage booster, which is planned to be reused to launch the Crew-2 mission next year.
The booster is expected to land on the recovery ship about nine minutes after launch.
NASA will provide continuous coverage – more than 30 hours – of the prelaunch, launch, docking, and arrival activities for the first crew rotation flight of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket following certification by NASA for regular flights to the space station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
The Crew Dragon is scheduled to dock to the space station around 11 p.m. Monday, Nov. 16. Launch, prelaunch activities, and docking will air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.
The Crew-1 flight will carry Crew Dragon Commander Michael Hopkins, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Shannon Walker, all of NASA, along with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Mission Specialist Soichi Noguchi, to the space station for a six-month science mission.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission coverage is as follows (all times Eastern):
Sunday, Nov. 15
3:15 p.m. – NASA Television launch coverage begins. NASA Television will have continuous coverage, including docking, hatch opening, and welcome ceremony, with a news conference following docking activities.
9 p.m. (approximately) – Postlaunch news conference with the following participants:
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine
Kathy Lueders, associate administrator for human exploration and operations, NASA Headquarters Hiroshi Sasaki, vice president, and director-general, JAXA’s Human Spaceflight Technology Directorate SpaceX representative.
Media may ask questions via phone only. For the dial-in number and passcode, please contact the Kennedy newsroom at ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov no later than 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 15.
Monday, Nov. 16
11 p.m. – Docking
Tuesday, Nov. 17
1:40 a.m. (approximately) – Welcome Ceremony from the International Space Station with the following participants:
·Kathy Lueders, associate administrator for human exploration and operations, NASA Headquarters
JAXA President Hiroshi Yamakawa
2 a.m. (approximately – immediately following Welcome Ceremony) – Post-Docking News Conference with the following participants:
Thursday, Nov. 19
Time TBD – International Space Station News Conference from Johnson with the following Expedition 64 crew members:
- NASA astronaut Kate Rubins
- NASA astronaut Michael Hopkins
- NASA astronaut Victor Glover
- NASA astronaut Shannon Walker
- JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi
Media may ask questions via phone only. For the dial-in number and passcode, please contact the Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 no later than 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18.
NASA TV Launch Coverage
NASA TV live coverage will begin Sunday, Nov. 15, at 3:15 p.m. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules, and links to streaming video, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/live
Audio only of the news conferences and launch coverage will be carried on the NASA “V” circuits, which may be accessed by dialing 321-867-1220, -1240, -1260, or -7135.
On launch day, “mission audio,” countdown activities without NASA TV launch commentary, will be carried on 321-867-7135.
On launch day, a “clean feed” of the launch without NASA TV commentary will be carried on the NASA TV media channel.
The launch also will be available on local amateur VHF radio frequency 146.940 MHz and UHF radio frequency 444.925 MHz, heard within Brevard County on the Space Coast.
