Watch Live: SpaceX, Axiom Launch First All-Private Mission to the ISS

pcmag.com:

Tune in this morning for the launch of the first all-private mission to the International Space Station, set to lift off at 11:17 a.m. ET.

Axiom Mission 1 will fly four civilians, including former NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría, on a 10-day mission to the ISS.

Coverage of the Ax-1 launch on SpaceX's Crew Dragon Endeavor begins at 10:15 a.m. via the NASA TV official livestream; watch on the agency's website or YouTube channel.

SpaceX also has its own stream:

Originally scheduled for a Wednesday takeoff from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the mission was delayed due to a holdup with NASA's Artemis 1 Moon rocket. A critical fueling test for that separate mission, originally slated for April 3, was postponed one day due to ground equipment safety issues, according to Space.com, which also pushed back the Ax-1 launch.

"Late last week, SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft arrived in the hangar at Launch Complex 39A […] where it has since been mated with the Falcon 9 rocket," Axiom said on Sunday. "The Ax-1 crew astronauts continue their quarantine in Florida and are ready and prepared for launch."

Assuming all goes well today, Commander López-Alegría will join pilot Larry Connor and mission specialists Eytan Stibbe and Mark Pathy for a trip of a lifetime. The quartet—hailing from Canada, Israel, Spain, and the US—are expected to reach the ISS Saturday morning, where they'll spend 10 days before returning to Earth.

SpaceX last month announced plans to end production of new Crew Dragon astronaut capsules. Elon Musk's company will instead focus on its next-generation Starship program, capping the reusable Crew convoy at four.

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