SpaceX Crew-3 astronauts arrive at Kennedy Space Center
ORLANDO, Fla. - The SpaceX Crew-3 mission is preparing for liftoff this weekend.
The launch is scheduled for October 31 at 2:21 a.m. EST. Four astronauts will ride a SpaceX Dragon capsule into space and head towards the International Space Station (ISS), where they will spend several months completing a science mission.
NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, and Kayla Barron will embark on the mission with ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer. Their roles are outlined below:
- Raja Chari: Mission Commander
- Tom Marshburn: Pilot
- Kayla Barron: Mission Specialist
- Matthias Maurer: Mission Specialist
"Everyone is more than qualified, and we are actually super happy to just get the chance to go to space," Chari added.
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On Tuesday afternoon, NASA confirmed that the SpaceX Crew-3 astronauts are on their way to Kennedy Space Center for final launch preparations.
They are expected to arrive at 2:30 p.m. EST. FOX 35 will stream them live.
While in space, the four astronauts will complete several experiments.
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"Lots of medical experiments. We are testing out medical devices. I am going to be working with a muscle sensor that will help us figure out how muscle atrophy in space but also tech development for this device so that people can have these evaluations done in ICU or when they are out in the field," Marshburn previously said.
Already at the ISS are Crew-2 astronauts Shane Kimbrough, Megan McArthur, Aki Hoshide, and Thomas Pesquet. They are scheduled to return home sometime in November.
"They will be a true collection of international astronauts and it will be really fun to see that during the handover," said Kathy Lueders, NASA’s Associate Administrator of Space Operations.
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