CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Four astronauts have climbed aboard a SpaceX rocket have officially launched to the International Space Station on Sunday night.
You can watch the live coverage of their journey to the International Space Station using the video player below.
Recommended Videos
The launch was delayed from Saturday night to Sunday night after Elon Musk was sidelined from the event due to COVID-19. On Sunday the prospects of good weather for the launch were just 50-50.
“Game day!” NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins, the crew commander, tweeted before suiting up and heading to the launch pad in a Tesla Model X. The astronauts' flashy white suits with black trim matched their rides, made by Elon Musk’s two main companies: SpaceX and Tesla.
Once seated in the Teslas, the astronauts exchanged high-fives and hand embraces with their children and spouses, who huddled at the open car windows for a farewell. The families quarantined with them in recent weeks, allowing the up-close encounter.
Musk — who disclosed on the eve of the launch that he “most likely” has a moderate case of coronavirus, despite mixed results — was replaced in his official duties at Kennedy by SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell. She joined NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine for last-minute remarks and photos with the astronauts.
NASA policy is that anyone testing positive for the virus to quarantine and remain isolated. Officials stressed the rules applied to everyone, Musk included.
The launch of Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi and three Americans — all but one of them former space station residents — comes just three months after a pair of NASA test pilots successfully concluded SpaceX’s first occupied flight of a Dragon crew capsule.
Read more here: SpaceX aims for night crew launch, Elon Musk sidelined by virus