John Paul M. Joaquin Science 10.01.2022 02:Oct AM EDT

NASA To Provide Coverage for SpaceX Crew-5 Launch — Here’s How You Can Watch It Live

SpaceX's Crew-5 mission is cleared for lift-off and will be going to the ISS soon.

NASA has recently announced it will be providing coverage of the activities before and during the launch of SpaceX's Crew-5 mission, which will begin on Oct. 3.

SpaceX's Crew-5 mission was initially scheduled to launch on Sept. 30 but was delayed to Oct. 5 due to Hurricane Ian.

SpaceX Crew-5 Mission Coverage Details

NASA mentioned in its announcement that it would provide live coverage of the upcoming prelaunch and launch activities for its SpaceX Crew-5 mission, which will take four astronauts to the International Space Station.

You may remember that Crew-5 members Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Koichi Wakata, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina, will be replacing SpaceX's Crew-4 crew members on the ISS.

As previously planned, Crew-5's launch will go ahead on the noon of Oct. 5 at Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. The astronauts will be taken to the ISS through SpaceX's Dragon Endurance spacecraft, which is currently mated to the company's Falcon 9 rocket.

The prelaunch activities consist of a teleconference and a live feed of NASA's preparations for Crew-5's launch on Oct. 5. Unfortunately, NASA will not be providing online coverage of Crew-5's arrival at KSC, as it is limited to in-person media only.

However, its prelaunch and launch activities can be viewed online through NASA TV, the NASA App and its official website.

On Oct. 3 at 7:30 PM EDT, NASA will broadcast a prelaunch news conference at KSC. This conference will be attended by the manager of KSC's Commercial Crew Program, Steve Stich, ISS manager Joel Montalbano, and Kirt Costello, the chief scientist for the ISS.

Benji Reed, SpaceX's senior director for its Human Spaceflight Programs, Junichi Sakai, JAXA manager for the ISS, Sergei Krikalev, Roscosmos' executive director for its Human Space Flight Programs, and Brian Cizek, launch weather officer for the U.S. Space Force's 45th Weather Squadron, will also be in attendance.

NASA mentioned that it would begin providing "continuous mission coverage" of Crew-5's launch at 8:30 AM on Oct. 5, which will start from the Falcon 9's docking and the hatch open to the astronauts' welcome ceremony.

Post Launch Activities Coverage

NASA will also provide a post-launch news conference at 1:30 PM EDT, which will be live streamed on NASA TV.

For this conference, Kathy Lueders, NASA's associate administrator for its Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, will be joining Stich, Montalbano, Reed, and Krikalev.

They will also be joined by Hiroshi Sasaki, the vice president and director general of JAXA's Human Spaceflight Technology Directorate.

The space agency will also provide coverage of Crew-5's docking to the ISS, which is expected to happen at 4:57 PM EDT. It will also provide coverage of the hatch opening and welcome ceremony, which will happen at 6:42 PM EDT and 8:15 PM EDT, respectively.