{"id":778237,"date":"2024-03-04T00:53:53","date_gmt":"2024-03-04T05:53:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=778237"},"modified":"2024-03-04T00:53:53","modified_gmt":"2024-03-04T05:53:53","slug":"nasas-crew-8-mission-lifts-off-on-a-spacex-rocket-npr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=778237","title":{"rendered":"NASA’s Crew-8 mission lifts off on a SpaceX rocket : NPR"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon Endeavour capsule carrying the Crew-8 mission launches from launch pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 3, 2024. \n <\/p>\n
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon Endeavour capsule carrying the Crew-8 mission launches from launch pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 3, 2024.<\/p>\n
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Chandan Khanna\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n
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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket thundered off the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida during a fiery nighttime liftoff just before 11 p.m. ET on Sunday. Four people were aboard the capsule as NASA’s Crew-8 mission gets underway.<\/p>\n
For the next 28 hours, the capsule will race to the International Space Station as it orbits more than 250 miles above the Earth. Once it catches up, it’ll dock autonomously around 3 a.m. ET on Tuesday and the crew will spend the next six months on the orbital laboratory.<\/p>\n
There was some concern in the minutes before launch about a “small crack” seen in a seal when the capsule’s side hatch was closed. SpaceX told the crew there would be no concern during liftoff – but on the capsule’s return when the soaring temperatures of re-entry could pose safety problems. After analysis, SpaceX’s engineers said they were confident it would not be an issue for the mission.<\/p>\n
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