How to watch SpaceX’s Crew-6 astronaut launch live online (Image Credit: Space.com)
A new SpaceX crewed mission is about to take flight.
Crew-6 will launch to the International Space Station (ISS) no sooner than Feb. 26. The four astronauts will ride to the orbital lab aboard SpaceX‘s Falcon 9 rocket and dock with the ISS less than a day later.
Onboard is the first United Arab Emirates astronaut to perform a long-duration mission (Sultan Al-Neyadi), NASA astronauts Warren “Woody” Hoburg and Stephen Bowen, and Andrey Fedyaev of Russian space agency Roscosmos.
Here’s how you can follow the latest news for the mission online or sign up for a virtual launch experience accessible from anywhere in the world with good Internet.
Related: SpaceX Crew-6 astronauts gear up for Feb. 26 launch to space station
Feb. 17 onwards: NASA Crew-6 virtual activities
Feb. 17 and following: Registration is open now for NASA Crew-6 virtual activities. “The virtual guest program for this launch includes curated launch resources, timely mission updates, and a virtual guest passport stamp following a successful launch,” NASA says (opens in new tab). You can get more details here (opens in new tab).
Tuesday, Feb. 21: Crew arrival and flight readiness review
12:30 p.m. EST (1730 GMT): Crew arrival media event at Kennedy on NASA Television. Coverage is available on the agency’s website (opens in new tab) and social media channels as well, such as YouTube (opens in new tab), Twitter (opens in new tab), Facebook (opens in new tab), LinkedIn (opens in new tab), Twitch (opens in new tab), Daily Motion (opens in new tab) and NASA’s App (opens in new tab) with the following participants:
- Dana Hutcherson, deputy manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program
- Salem AlMarri, director general, Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre
- NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen
- NASA astronaut Warren Hoburg
- UAE astronaut Sultan Al-Neyadi
- Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev
Roughly 6 p.m. EST (2300 GMT): Flight Readiness Review media teleconference (no earlier than one hour after completion of the review.) Coverage is available on the agency’s website (opens in new tab), here at Space.com and NASA social media channels as well, such as YouTube (opens in new tab), Twitter (opens in new tab), Facebook (opens in new tab), LinkedIn (opens in new tab), Twitch (opens in new tab), Daily Motion (opens in new tab) and NASA’s App (opens in new tab). with the following participants:
- Ken Bowersox, deputy associate administrator, Space Operations Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Washington
- Steve Stich, manager, Commercial Crew Program, Kennedy
- Dana Weigel, deputy manager, International Space Station Program, NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston
- Emily Nelson, chief flight director, Johnson
- Jared Metter, director, Flight Reliability, SpaceX
- Adnan AlRais, mission manager UAE Astronaut Mission 2, Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre
Friday, Feb. 24
10:30 p.m. EST / 0330 GMT Feb. 25 (approximately): Prelaunch news teleconference at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Coverage is available on the agency’s website (opens in new tab), here at Space.com and NASA social media channels as well, such as YouTube (opens in new tab), Twitter (opens in new tab), Facebook (opens in new tab), LinkedIn (opens in new tab), Twitch (opens in new tab), Daily Motion (opens in new tab) and NASA’s App (opens in new tab). with the following participants:
- Steve Stich, manager, Commercial Crew Program, Kennedy
- Dana Weigel, deputy manager, International Space Station Program, Johnson
- Emily Nelson, chief flight director, Johnson
- Kirt Costello, chief scientist, International Space Station Program, Johnson
- Sarah Walker, director, Dragon Mission Management, SpaceX
- Salem AlMarri, director general, Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre
- Mike McAleenan, launch weather officer, U.S. Space Force 45th Weather Squadron
Feb. 25: Launch coverage begins
Feb. 25, 10:30 p.m. EST (0330 GMT Feb. 26): The launch broadcast will begin on NASA TV and will be available here at Space.com as well. Coverage is available on the agency’s website (opens in new tab), here at Space.com and NASA social media channels as well, such as YouTube (opens in new tab), Twitter (opens in new tab), Facebook (opens in new tab), LinkedIn (opens in new tab), Twitch (opens in new tab), Daily Motion (opens in new tab) and NASA’s App (opens in new tab).
Feb. 26: Launch
Feb. 26, 2:07 a.m. EST (0707 GMT): Crew-6 will launch from Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The four astronauts will ride into space aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. This launch time is subject to weather and technical factors and may change.
Feb. 26, 4 a.m. EST / 0900 GMT (approximately): Postlaunch news conference on NASA TV with the following participants:
- Ken Bowersox, deputy associate administrator, Space Operations Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
- Steve Stich, manager, Commercial Crew Program, Kennedy
- Dana Weigel, deputy manager, International Space Station Program, Johnson
- Sarah Walker, director, Dragon Mission Management, SpaceX
- Salem AlMarri, director general, Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre
Feb. 27: Docking
Roughly 1 a.m. EST (0600 GMT): NASA coverage begins of the docking, which is scheduled for roughly 2:54 a.m. EST (0754 GMT). Coverage is available on the agency’s website (opens in new tab) and social media channels as well, such as YouTube (opens in new tab), Twitter (opens in new tab), Facebook (opens in new tab), LinkedIn (opens in new tab), Twitch (opens in new tab), Daily Motion (opens in new tab) and NASA’s App (opens in new tab).
4:35 a.m. EST (0935 GMT): Hatch opens to the ISS. This timing is subject to change depending on how the docking is going.
5:20 a.m. EST (1020 GMT): Welcome ceremony. This timing is subject to change depending on how the docking is going.
This story was updated at 9 a.m. EST Feb. 21 with new details about the NASA events.
Elizabeth Howell is the co-author of “Why Am I Taller (opens in new tab)?” (ECW Press, 2022; with Canadian astronaut Dave Williams), a book about space medicine. Follow her on Twitter @howellspace (opens in new tab). Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) or Facebook (opens in new tab).
