One Radio Amateur Aboard Historic SpaceX Launch

If all goes according to plan, NASA astronauts Bob Behnken, KE5GGX, and Doug Hurley will make US space history today [May 27], as human spaceflight returns to the US for the first time in almost a decade. Behnken and Hurley will be on board a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft for the “test flight” powered by a Falcon 9 launch vehicle, headed to the International Space Station (ISS).“We are go for launch!” tweeted NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. “SpaceX and NASA will continue monitoring lift-off and downrange weather as we step into the countdown. We are proceeding toward a 4:33 [EDT] launch.”

Back-up instantaneous launch opportunities are available on Saturday, May 30, at 1922 UTC, and on Sunday, May 31, at 1900 UTC. The “Demo-2” is the final major test for SpaceX’s human spaceflight system to be certified by NASA for operational crew missions to and from the International Space Station, SpaceX said.

Launch video from the Kennedy Space Center is available on the SpaceX website.

SOURCE :ARRL

SpaceX is targeting Wednesday, May 27 for Falcon 9’s launch of Crew Dragon’s second demonstration (Demo-2) mission from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This test flight with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley on board the Dragon spacecraft will return human spaceflight to the United States. The instantaneous launch window opens at 4:33 p.m. EDT, or 20:33 UTC, with backup instantaneous launch opportunities available on Saturday, May 30 at 3:22 p.m. EDT, or 19:22 UTC, and on Sunday, May 31 at 3:00 p.m. EDT, or 19:00 UTC. Tune in here to watch the launch webcast. Coverage will begin about 4 hours before liftoff. Demo-2 is the final major test for SpaceX’s human spaceflight system to be certified by NASA for operational crew missions to and from the International Space Station. SpaceX is returning human spaceflight to the United States with one of the safest, most advanced systems ever built, and NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is a turning point for America’s future in space exploration that lays the groundwork for future missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.