A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard is seen on the launch pad at sunrise, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the United States, May 27, 2020. (Joel Kowsky/NASA/Handout via Xinhua)
NASA and SpaceX are targeting 7:49 p.m. EST Saturday, Nov. 14, for the launch of the first crew rotation mission to the International Space Station as part of the agency's Commercial Crew Program, NASA announced on Tuesday.
The mission, named Crew-1, will launch NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, along with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency mission specialist Soichi Noguchi, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Crew-1 astronauts will join the Expedition 64 crew of Commander Sergey Ryzhikov, and Flight Engineers Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and NASA astronaut Kate Rubins.
The arrival of Crew-1 will increase the regular crew size of the space station's expedition missions from six to seven astronauts, adding to the amount of crew time available for research, said NASA.
The launch will be the first time an international crew will fly aboard a NASA-certified, commercially-owned and operated American rocket and spacecraft from American soil, according to NASA.