The next commercial crew is about to head to space, and you can watch all the action live.
SpaceX will send four people to the International Space Station (ISS), including the first Native American woman in space and the first Russian cosmonaut to take a seat on a commercial spacecraft. The company’s Crew-5 mission for NASA is slated to lift off at 12 p.m. EDT (1600 GMT) on Wednesday (Oct. 5), and you can watch live here at Space.com, via NASA Television, and receive updates on the NASA website, app and social media.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Dragon capsule carrying NASA astronauts Nicole Mann (who will become the first Native American woman in space as a member of the Wailacki of the Round Valley Indian Tribes in northern California) and Josh Cassada, along with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Koichi Wakata and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina.
NASA Television (and Space.com) will carry coverage of all the pre-flight and flight events, ranging from launch activities to docking at the ISS. A list of the key events is below. Note that some of these times may change due to operational requirements.
Related: NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 astronauts ready for historic mission
Wednesday, Oct. 5
8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT) — NASA TV launch coverage begins.
12 p.m. EDT (1630 GMT) — Launch of Crew-5.
1:30 p.m. EDT (1730 GMT) — Post-launch news conference on NASA TV with the following participants:
- Kathy Lueders, associate administrator, Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
- Steve Stich, manager, Commercial Crew Program, Kennedy Space Center
- Joel Montalbano, manager, International Space Station, Johnson Space Center
- Benji Reed, senior director, Human Spaceflight Programs, SpaceX
- Hiroshi Sasaki, vice president and director general, JAXA’s Human Spaceflight Technology Directorate
- Sergei Krikalev, executive director, Human Space Flight Programs, Roscosmos
Thursday, Oct. 6
4:57 p.m. EDT (2057 GMT) — Docking to the International Space Station
6:42 p.m. EDT (2242 GMT) — Hatch opening
8:15 p.m. EDT (0015 GMT Friday, Oct. 7) — Welcome ceremony
Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace (opens in new tab). Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) or Facebook (opens in new tab).
