BREAKING: NASA astronauts blast off into space on a SpaceX rocket, heralding a new era in human spaceflight. For updates, go here.
Earlier story:
It’s launch day.
Following a postponement, Saturday will now mark the first time in nearly 10 years that American astronauts will launch into space from U.S. soil after Wednesday’s launch was postponed due to concerns over weather conditions. The mission is scheduled to send NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to space aboard the Crew Dragon capsule, designed by Tesla founder Elon Musk’s SpaceX company. The rescheduled launch is taking place at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 12:22 p.m. PT (3:22 p.m. ET) on Saturday, May 30.
If weather or other factors prevent the launch from happening again on Saturday as it is currently planned, SpaceX and NASA can try again on Sunday with a 60 percent chance of being able to begin the mission on those days.
The spacecraft is intended to dock with the International Space Station. As CNET reports, the Demo-2 mission is “part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which involves two commercial spaceflight companies, SpaceX and Boeing, building and launching crew capsules designed to ferry astronauts to and from the ISS.”
If all goes to plan, the May 30 event will mark the first time SpaceX has launched humans into space. In honor of the historic occasion, TV, streaming services and other outlets are offering several ways to watch the space launch. Here are key details:
What: NASA and SpaceX’s crewed space launch
When: The launch is scheduled for 12:22 p.m. PT (3:22 p.m. ET) on Saturday, May 30.
Before the weather postponement, the launch was originally scheduled for May 27.
WATCH LIVE
On Saturday, watch the YouTube live feed provided at the top of this page.
TV channel: “Space Launch Live: America Returns to Space,” will simulcast on Discovery and the Science Channel. Coverage is scheduled to start at 11 p.m. PT and 2 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 30. If Saturday’s launch is delayed and postponed until Sunday, May 31, Discovery and Science Channel will offer live coverage that starts at 11 a.m. PT and 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 31.
National Geographic is joining with ABC News Live for “Launch America: Mission to Space Live.” The one-hour coverage will air on the National Geographic Channel from noon-1 p.m. PT and 3-4 p.m. on Saturday, May 30.
Other streaming coverage: The ABC News coverage that will air on TV on the National Geographic Channel will also stream on ABC News Live. The “Launch America: Mission to Space Live” coverage will also be available to stream on a variety of other platforms, including Hulu; the Roku Channel; YouTube TV; Amazon’s news app on Fire tablets and Fire TV devices; Sling TV; Facebook; Twitter; ABCNews.com; and the ABC News and ABC mobile apps.
The SpaceX website will also carry coverage of the Demo-2 launch.
ABC News says that if weather forces another schedule change, moving the launch to approximately 11:59 a.m. PT and 2:59 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 31, ABC News Live and National Geographic will shift the live streaming and televised coverage to 11:30 a.m. PT and 2:30 p.m. ET on that date.