After a few delays and a quick, um, adjustment, the NASA and SpaceX Crew-3 mission launch now has a date set in stone, meaning you can soon catch a crewed mission blast off into space live from the comfort of your web browser.
This post was originally published November 1, 2021, but has since been updated with current launch times. Times are still subject to change, so we’ll update this post if anything changes.
The upcoming launch is a collaborative science mission between NASA and SpaceX, shooting four astronauts up into space and docking with the International Space Station. The astronauts will board the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft, marking its third crew rotation with the ISS and its fourth mission to space.
The astronauts that’ll be saying goodbye to Earth’s gravity for a long six months are mission commander Raja Chari, pilot Tom Marshburn, mission specialist Kayla Barron and European Space Agency astronaut and mission specialist Matthias Maurer. They will stay aboard the ISS for half a year, returning in April 2022. Members of the Crew-2 mission (which left in April) returned to earth on November 9.
Just days ago, NASA and SpaceX had to run through a last-minute adjustment to the *checks notes* toilet of the Crew-3 spacecraft, after it was found to be leaking urine into the fan system – thankfully, this has been fixed.
What time is the Crew-3 mission launch?
The Endurance spacecraft was originally scheduled to launch from Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on October 31, but weather conditions delayed the launch. NASA originally rescheduled to Wednesday, November 3, but the launch has now been paused three times, after reports of a medical issue impacting a crew member and bad weather.
At the earliest, the Endurance spacecraft will now launch on November 10, with the earliest possible launch set for 9:03 pm EST.
Here are the Australian timezones of when that’ll take place:
- AEDT (NSW, VIC, TAS): Broadcast at 8:45 am, Take-off at 1:03 pm Thursday
- ACDT (SA): Broadcast at 8:15 am, Take-off at 12:33 pm Thursday
- AEST (QLD): Broadcast at 7:45 am, Take-off at 12:03 pm Thursday
- ACST (NT): Broadcast at 7:15 am, Take-off at 11:33 pm Thursday
- AWST (WA): Broadcast at 5:45 am, Take-off at 10:03 am Thursday
These times are subject to change due to weather conditions. We’ll update this post if anything changes.
How can I watch the Crew-3 mission launch in Australia?
If you miss it, you’ll be able to catch coverage of the event after the launch on the NASA and SpaceX YouTube channels. There’ll certainly be more launches after this one, so don’t feel like you’re missing out if you miss it live.