Dragon has separated from the second stage and is flying on its own. The spacecraft is traveling at approximately 17,000 miles per hour (27,000 kilometers per hour). About one minute later, the Dragon nosecone open sequence will begin.
Stage 1 of the Falcon 9 rocket completed its descent and landed at SpaceX’s Landing Zone 1 at nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, becoming the first booster for a commercial crew flight to return to the station for recovery.
The second stage engine continues to burn. We’re about eight minutes into flight, and all is well. In about a minute, the second stage engine will shut down.
The rocket has reached first stage main engine cutoff (MECO), and the first and second stages have separated. Next, the second stage engine will start.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off the pad at 3:27 a.m. EDT on Saturday, Aug. 26, from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A in Florida carrying NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 crew members to the International Space Station. Aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft are NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA [...]
Five minutes to liftoff, and all looks good for the Crew-7 launch!
Fuel loading is complete on the second stage, and liquid oxygen loading has begun. Everything remains on target for the 3:27 a.m. EDT launch of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The Crew-7 crew members now are boarding SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft. As they board, their seats are configured in the upright position; later, prior to closure of the spacecraft’s side hatch, the seats will rotate into a reclined position for flight. All four crewmates signed the inside of the White Room, an area at the [...]
Crew-7 crew members NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, commander; ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, pilot; and mission specialists JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov have arrived at Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A, where SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, named Endurance, is ready for them to climb in for launch. Liftoff [...]
The Crew-7 astronauts walk out of the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug 26, 2023. Photo credit: NASA TVCrew-7 crew members NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, commander; ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, pilot; and mission specialists JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and [...]