UPDATE: LAUNCH HAS SLIPPED TO 10:53 P.M. SUNDAY EVENING DUE TO WEATHER.
NASA and SpaceX are preparing for the launch of four astronauts to the international space station. The Crew-8 launch will carry NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin. It’s part of the NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The mission marks the eighth crew rotation flying in a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.
Endeavour is the name of this Dragon spacecraft. SpaceX is all about reusebility. Endeavor has flown with crew four times before. SpaceX teams then refurbish it with a new heat shield, parachutes, engines, and a nosecone.
The launch is targeted for no earlier 12:04 a.m., Friday, March 1, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew will dock about 7 a.m. the next day. They’ll spend about six months aboard the space station.
The Space Station is located about 250 miles above Earth, providing a microgravity laboratory. The astronauts perform research, technology demonstrations, and maintenance activities aboard the ISS.
