NASA will provide coverage of the upcoming prelaunch and launch activities for the agency’s SpaceX Crew-3 mission with astronauts to the International Space Station. This is the third crew rotation mission with astronauts on the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and the fourth flight with astronauts, including the Demo-2 test flight, as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
The launch is targeted for 2:21 a.m. EDT Sunday, Oct. 31, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Crew Dragon Endurance is scheduled to dock to the space station at 12:10 a.m. Monday, Nov. 1. Prelaunch activities, launch, and docking will air live on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.
The Crew-3 flight will carry NASA astronauts Raja Chari, mission commander; Tom Marshburn, pilot; and Kayla Barron, mission specialist; as well as ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer, who will serve as a mission specialist, to the space station for a six-month science mission.
The deadline has passed for media accreditation for in-person coverage of this launch. More information about media accreditation is available by emailing: ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov.
All media participation in the following news conferences will be remote except where specifically listed below, and only a limited number of media will be accommodated at Kennedy due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Please note that the Kennedy Press Site facilities will remain closed throughout these events for the protection of Kennedy employees and journalists, except for a limited number of media who will receive confirmation in writing in the coming days.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-3 mission coverage is as follows (all times Eastern):
Monday, Oct. 25
7 p.m. (approximately) – Flight Readiness Review (FRR) Media Teleconference at Kennedy (no earlier than one hour after completion of the FRR) with the following participants:
- Kathryn Lueders, associate administrator, Space Operations Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
- Steve Stich, manager, NASA Commercial Crew Program, Kennedy
- Joel Montalbano, manager, International Space Station, NASA’s Johnson Space Center
- Holly Ridings, chief flight director, Flight Operations Directorate, Johnson
- William Gerstenmaier, vice president, Build and Flight Reliability, SpaceX
- Frank de Winne, program manager, International Space Station, ESA
- Junichi Sakai, manager, International Space Station, JAXA
Media may ask questions via phone only. For the dial-in number and passcode, please contact the Kennedy newsroom no later than 4 p.m. Monday, Oct. 25, at: ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov .
Tuesday, Oct. 26
1:30 p.m. (approximately) – Crew Arrival Media Event at Kennedy with the following participants (limited, previously confirmed in-person media only):
- Bob Cabana, NASA associate administrator
- Janet Petro, director, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center
- Frank de Winne, program manager, International Space Station, ESA
- NASA astronaut Raja Chari
- NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn
- NASA astronaut Kayla Barron
- ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer
No teleconference option is available for this event.
Wednesday, Oct. 27
7:45 a.m. – Virtual Crew Media Engagement at Kennedy with Crew-3 astronauts:
- NASA astronaut Raja Chari
- NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn
- NASA astronaut Kayla Barron
- ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer
Media may ask questions via phone only. For the dial-in number and passcode, please contact the Kennedy newsroom no later than 7 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 27, at: ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov.
Thursday, Oct. 28
1 p.m. – Science Media Teleconference to discuss investigations the Crew-3 crew will support during their mission with the following participants:
- David Brady, associate program scientist for the International Space Station Program at Johnson, will provide an introduction to the research and technology aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft.
- Dr. Yun-Xing Wang, senior investigator in the Structural Biophysics Laboratory at the National Cancer Institute, and Dr. Jason R. Stagno, staff scientist in the Structural Biophysics Laboratory at the National Cancer Institute. Wang and Stagno will discuss the Uniform Protein Crystal Growth experiment that aims to grow near perfect microcrystals in microgravity, which will be immediately analyzed by a powerful atomic imager on their return to Earth alongside the Crew-2 astronauts.
- Dr. Grace Douglas, lead scientist for NASA’s Advanced Food Technology research effort, who will discuss the Food Physiology experiment. This investigation studies the impacts of an enhanced spaceflight diet on astronaut health.
- Dr. Hector Guiterrez, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the Florida Institute of Technology, who will discuss the Smartphone Video Guidance Sensor (SVGS) that will test a set of LED beacons with which the Astrobee free-flying robots will interact during formation flight maneuvers.
- A representative from the Standard Measures investigation, which collects a set of core measurements related to many human spaceflight risks from astronauts before, during, and after long-duration missions.
Media may ask questions via phone only. For the dial-in number and passcode, please contact Stephanie Schierholz no later than 10 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 28, at: stephanie.schierholz@nasa.gov.
Friday, Oct. 29
12 p.m. – NASA Administrator Media Briefing on NASA TV with the following participants:
- Bill Nelson, NASA administrator
- Pam Melroy, NASA deputy administrator
- Bob Cabana, NASA associate administrator
- Kathryn Lueders, associate administrator, Space Operations Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
- Janet Petro, director, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center
- Woody Hoburg, NASA astronaut
Media may ask questions via phone only. For the dial-in number and passcode, please contact the Kennedy newsroom no later than 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 29, at: ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov
10 p.m. – Prelaunch News Conference at Kennedy (no earlier than one hour after completion of the Launch Readiness Review) with the following participants:
- Steve Stich, manager, Commercial Crew Program, Kennedy
- Joel Montalbano, manager, International Space Station, Johnson
- Jennifer Buchli, deputy chief scientist, International Space Station Program, Johnson
- Holly Ridings, chief flight director, Flight Operations Directorate, Johnson
- Sarah Walker, director, Dragon Mission Management, SpaceX
- Josef Aschbacher, director general, ESA
- William Ulrich, launch weather officer, 45th Weather Squadron, United States Space Force
Media may ask questions via phone only. For the dial-in number and passcode, please contact the Kennedy newsroom no later than 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 29, at ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov.
Saturday, Oct. 30
10 p.m. – NASA Television launch coverage begins. NASA Television will have continuous coverage, including launch, docking, hatch open, and welcome ceremony.
Sunday, Oct. 31
2:21 a.m. – Launch
NASA TV coverage continues through docking, arrival, and the welcome ceremony. In lieu of a postlaunch news conference, NASA leadership will provide comments during the broadcast.
Monday, Nov. 1
12:10 a.m. – Docking
1:50 a.m. – Hatch Opening
2:20 a.m. – Welcoming Ceremony
NASA TV Launch Coverage
NASA TV live coverage will begin at 10 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 30. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules, and links to streaming video, visit:
Audio only of the news conferences and launch coverage will be carried on the NASA “V” circuits, which may be accessed by dialing 321-867-1220, -1240, -1260 or -7135. On launch day, “mission audio,” countdown activities without NASA TV launch commentary, will be carried on 321-867-7135.
NASA Website Launch Coverage
Launch day coverage of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-3 mission will be available on the agency’s website. Coverage will include live streaming and blog updates beginning no earlier than 10 p.m. ET on Saturday, Oct. 30, as the countdown milestones occur. On-demand streaming video and photos of the launch will be available shortly after liftoff. For questions about countdown coverage, contact the Kennedy newsroom at: 321-867-2468. Follow countdown coverage on our launch blog at:
https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew
Attend the Launch Virtually
Members of the public can register to attend this launch virtually or join the Facebook event. NASA’s virtual guest program for this mission also includes curated launch resources, notifications about related opportunities, as well as a stamp for the NASA virtual guest passport (for those registered via Eventbrite) following a successful launch.
Watch, Engage on Social Media
Let people know you’re following the mission on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram by using the hashtag #Crew3. You can also stay connected by following and tagging these accounts:
Twitter: @NASA, @Commercial_Crew, @NASAKennedy, @NASASocial, @Space_Station, @ISS_Research, @ISS National Lab, @SpaceX
Facebook: NASA, NASACommercialCrew NASAKennedy, ISS, ISS National Lab
Instagram: @NASA, @NASAKennedy, @ISS, @ISSNationalLab, @SpaceX
Did you know NASA has a Spanish section called NASA en Espanol? Make sure to check out NASA en Espanol on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube for more coverage on Crew-3.
Para obtener información sobre cobertura en español en el Centro Espacial Kennedy o si desea solicitar entrevistas en español, comuníquese con Antonia Jaramillo 321-501-8425 antonia.jaramillobotero@nasa.gov.
NASA will provide a live video feed of Launch Complex 39A approximately 48 hours prior to the planned liftoff of the Crew-3 mission. Pending unlikely technical issues, the feed will be uninterrupted until the prelaunch broadcast begins on NASA TV, approximately four hours prior to launch.
Once the feed is live, you will find it at:
https://youtube.com/kscnewsroom
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program has delivered on its goal of safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station from the United States through a partnership with American private industry. This partnership is changing the arc of human spaceflight history by opening access to low-Earth orbit and the International Space Station to more people, more science, and more commercial opportunities. The space station remains the springboard to NASA’s next great leap in space exploration, including future missions to the Moon and, eventually, to Mars.
For NASA’s launch blog and more information about the mission, visit:
