04 March 2024
SpaceX launches Crew-8 astronaut mission to International Space Station for NASA (video)
SpaceX launched another crew of four to the International Space Station tonight (March 3). A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off with the four astronauts of NASA’s Crew-8 mission at 10:53 p.m. EST tonight (0353 GMT on March 4) from Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The rocket’s two stages separated 2.5 minutes after launch. About five minutes after that, the first stage returned to Earth at Cape Canaveral, acing the company’s 204th consecutive booster landing. Then, 12 minutes and 15 seconds after liftoff, the Falcon 9’s upper stage deployed the mission’s Crew Dragon capsule, named Endeavour, into low Earth orbit (LEO). The astronauts of Crew-8 now on their way to the space station are NASA’s Matthew Dominick (commander), Michael Barratt (pilot) and Jeanette Epps (mission specialist), as well as mission specialist Alexander Grebenkin of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos. All crewmembers are new to space aside from Barratt, who is making his third spaceflight. “Hey, Earth! Just to let you know, it’s kind of like a rollercoaster ride with a bunch of really excited teenagers,” Barratt told mission control just after Endeavour deployed into LEO. “Thanks so much to our friends and colleagues at SpaceX for the awesome ride. It’s great to be back in space again!”