Live Web-cast Sun. Night: Historic SpaceX, 1st Operational Astronaut Launch

Photograph of the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule on top of a Falcon 9 rocket, which will be launched Sunday. The Crew-1 mission will launch three NASA astronauts and one Japanese astronaut to the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday evening.

By Glenn A. Walsh

Reporting for SpaceWatchtower

Web-casts and cable-casts are set for coverage of the historic launch, rescheduled to Sunday evening, of three NASA astronauts and one Japanese astronaut bound for the International Space Station (ISS), using the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule. This first regular operational, Crew-1 mission was originally scheduled for Saturday evening.

SpaceX, founded in 2002 by billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, plans to launch the astronauts toward the International Space Station on Sunday Evening, 2020 November 15 at 7:27 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) / November 16, 0:27 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

The launch had been originally scheduled for Saturday Evening, 2020 November 14 at 7:49 p.m. EST / November 15, 0:49 UTC. However, the launch was delayed due to concerns regarding on-shore 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.

The launch will occur from Launch Complex 39A at the John F. Kennedy Space Center, at Cape Canaveral on Merritt Island, Florida. This is the same launch pad which saw the launch of the Apollo missions to the Moon, 1968 to 1972, and the Space Shuttle missions beginning on 1981 April 12; Space Shuttle missions concluded on 2011 July 21.

NASA-TV, available through the NASA Internet web-site, will provide live coverage of the launch, beginning on Sunday at 3:15 p.m. EST / 20:15 UTC (Internet link to the NASA-TV web-page near the end of this blog-post). NASA will provide continuous coverage - more than 30 hours - of the pre-launch, 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. The Crew Dragon capsule is scheduled to dock with the ISS at approximately 11:00 p.m. EST on Monday, 2020 November 16 / November 17, 4:00 UTC.

Coverage of the launch will also be available on two cable television channels: Discovery and Science. Chances are good that the three major cable news channels, CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News Channel may also provide coverage at the actual time of launch.

As of Saturday evening, the U.S. Air Force 45th Weather Squadron determined that weather conditions provided a 50 per-cent favorable chance of a launch of Crew-1 on Sunday evening.

The very first SpaceX astronaut mission to the ISS was a demonstration mission, launching two astronauts, on May 30. While the demonstration mission in May was short, this first operational mission will have the four astronauts stay on the ISS for about a half-year.

This Crew-1 flight will include Mission Commander Michael Hopkins (NASA), Pilot Victor Glover (NASA), Mission Specialist Shannon Walker (NASA), and Mission Specialist Soichi Noguchi (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency – JAXA). Victor Glover, a Navy test pilot who is launching on his first space mission, will be the first African-American to have an extended stay on the International Space Station.

Crew-1 is the first crew rotation flight of a U.S. commercial spacecraft with astronauts to the Space Station following the spacecraft system’s official human rating certification.

 NASA-TV Web-Page for SpaceX Launch: Link >>> https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/#public

Internet Links to Additional Information ---

 SpaceX Crew-1 Mission -

Link 1 >>> https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/ 

Link 2 >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX_Crew-1 

Crew Dragon Capsule: Link >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX_Dragon_2#Crew_Dragon

Falcon 9 Rocket: Link >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falcon_9 

SpaceX: Link >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX 

NASA: Link >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA

Related Blog-Posts ---

"UPDATE: Web & Cablecasts: Historic SpaceX Astronaut Launch Sat. Afternoon."

Wed., 2020 May 27.

Link >>> https://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2020/05/web-cablecasts-historic-spacex.html 

 

"SpaceX Public, On-Line Simulator: Docking w/ Space Station." Tue., 2020 May 19.

Link >>> https://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2020/05/spacex-public-on-line-simulator-docking.html 

 

"Astro-Calendar: Jan. / SpaceX Crew Dragon Test Launch Jan. 11." Thur., 2020 Jan. 2. 

 Link >>> https://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2020/01/astro-calendar-jan-spacex-crew-dragon.html 

 

"Web-Cast: 1st Test Launch of SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Tue. Afternoon."

Tue., 2018 Feb. 6.

Link >>> https://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2018/02/web-cast-1st-test-launch-of-spacex.html

 

NASA Orion Spacecraft: Near-Perfect Test Mission After Day-Delay." Fri., 2014 Dec. 5.

Link >>> https://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2014/12/nasa-orion-spacecraft-near-perfect-test.html

 

 Source: Glenn A. Walsh Reporting for SpaceWatchtower, a project of Friends of the Zeiss.

                 Sunday, 2020 November 15.

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gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Informal Science Educator & Communicator:
< http://buhlNo Friends of the Zeiss: < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/fotz/ >
SpaceWatchtower Editor / Author: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
Formerly Astronomical Observatory Coordinator & Planetarium Lecturer, original Buhl Planetarium & Institute of Popular Science (a.k.a. Buhl Science Center), Pittsburgh's science & technology museum from 1939 to 1991.
Formerly Trustee, Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall, Pittsburgh suburb of Carnegie, Pennsylvania.
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh: < http://www.planetarium.cc >                                                               Buhl Observatory: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2016/11/75th-anniversary-americas-5th-public.html >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago: < http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear: < http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries: < http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >