SpaceX delayed the launch of its Falcon Heavy on Monday, ending its hope for a spectacular double-dip of rocket launches, the agency announced.

Four astronauts from four countries are rocketing toward the International Space Station.

SpaceX has launched four astronauts to the International Space Station.

SpaceX is resolving toilet spills in its capsules before it launches another crew for NASA.

Megan McArthur is no stranger to space flight, having spent 13 days in space aboard the shuttle on the STS-125 Hubble Space Telescope mission.

SpaceX has launched its third crew in under a year for NASA, this time using a recycled rocket and capsule.

SpaceX is aiming for its third crew launch an hour before sunrise Friday.

It is due to reach the space station late Monday and remain there until spring. NASA policy at Kennedy Space Center requires anyone testing positive for coronavirus to quarantine and remain isolated. Even the two astronauts on the first SpaceX crew flight stayed behind at Johnson Space Center in Houston. “I didn’t start breathing until about a minute after it took off,” Pence said during a stop at SpaceX Launch Control to congratulate the workers. The four astronauts will be joining two Russians and one American who flew to the space station last month from Kazakhstan.

NASA and SpaceX will have to thread the needle to launch the SpaceX Crew-1 Sunday evening. The SpaceX launch that was supposed to take place Saturday evening was pushed back 24 hours due to strong onshore winds. The mission, called Crew-1, will launch aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft on an 8.5-hour trip to the International Space Station. It will be the first fully-crewed SpaceX launch since the inaugural May 2020 SpaceX demonstration mission that sent astronauts Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken to the International Space Station aboard a Crew Dragon capsule. NASA selected Boeing and SpaceX in September 2014 to transport crew to the International Space Station from the United States.

This Saturday three American astronauts and a Japanese astronaut will blast off to the International Space Station from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a SpaceX rocket. This will be the first fully-crewed SpaceX launch since the inaugural May 2020 SpaceX demonstration mission that sent astronauts Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken to the International Space Station aboard a Crew Dragon capsule. The goal is to have safe, reliable and cost-effective access to and from the International Space Station and to foster commercial access to other potential low-Earth orbit destinations. NASA selected Boeing and SpaceX in September 2014 to transport crew to the International Space Station from the United States. The company plans a second unpiloted test flight in a couple of months; the first one suffered so many software problems that the Starliner capsule failed to reach the space station.

If it goes off as planned, this will mark the first mission involving astronauts from U.S. soil since 2011. Still, NASA astronaut Bob Behnken has said he and Doug Hurley are “really comfortable” with the risks. So you’re making educated guesses, at best.”It seems there’s just more uncharted territory when it comes to space travel. “The first astronauts really started out as test pilots,” Garfinkle said. But assuming this launch goes well, “It would be great for kids to see a successful, triumphant moment of science,” Fink said.

And yes, the Crew Dragon does have a toilet just in case. But one astronaut who worked on the Crew Dragon program said he has seen the design and said the accommodations are "perfectly adequate for that task." Officials in both countries have held up their symbiotic relationship on the International Space Station as a beacon of post-Cold War cooperation. NASA officials said Russia and Japan, another ISS partner, both joined discussions for a Crew Dragon safety review last week. Each Crew Dragon spacecraft could also make multiple trips to space, the company has suggested.

On Wednesday, the company will attempt to launch two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station in a mission called Demo-2. The launch of SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft is moving forward despite the Covid-19 pandemic, which has shuttered both private and government operations across the US. NASA had already put money toward SpaceX's development of the Dragon spacecraft used for transporting cargo. But one astronaut who worked on the Crew Dragon program said he has seen the design and said the accommodations are "perfectly adequate for that task." Each Crew Dragon spacecraft could also make multiple trips to space, the company has suggested.

(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. A SpaceX rocket is ready to boost two NASA astronauts into orbit Wednesday, the first launch of Americans from the U.S. in nearly a decade. Riding aboard the brand new SpaceX Dragon capsule for the historic flight: veteran NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken. SpaceX is controlling the vehicle, theres no fluff about that, said Norm Knight, a NASA flight operations manager. The last time astronauts launched from Florida was on NASAs final space shuttle flight in July 2011. Development of SpaceXs Dragon and Boeings Starliner capsules took longer than expected, however, and the U.S. has been paying Russia to launch NASA astronauts in the interim.

Here are four things to watch for with Wednesdays Launch America. New Space SuitsGone are the bulky, orange space suits of the past- the SpaceX space suits were designed by Hollywood super hero suit designer Jose Fernandez of Ironhead Studios. The NASA red worm logo will be on the rear window with the lower portion of the Falcon 9 rocket. The worm logo was designed in 1975 in an attempt to make a more modern logo. The "worm" logo is on the left, the classic "meatball" logo is on the right.

Veteran NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken were set to make history Wednesday afternoon, riding SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule to the International Space Station on a test flight. On the eve of the launch, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said from Kennedy Space Center that both the space agency and SpaceX have been diligent about making sure everyone in the launch loop knows they're free to halt the countdown if there's a concern. SpaceX has been launching cargo capsules to the space station since 2012. NASA hired SpaceX and Boeing in 2014 to transport astronauts to the space station, after commercial cargo shipments had taken off. Development of SpaceX's Dragon and Boeing's Starliner capsules took longer than expected, however, and the U.S. has been paying Russia to launch NASA astronauts in the interim.

(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. Stormy weather is threatening to delay SpaceXs first astronaut launch. It will be the first time astronauts launch from Florida in nine years and a first for a private company. We're continuing to be vigilant and careful and make sure we do this right.Forecasters put the odds of acceptable launch weather at 40%. Hans Koenigsmann, a vice president for SpaceX, said the launch control team will incorporate global weather patterns and models to determine whether it's safe to launch. If the weather gods are working with us," he said, liftoff will occur at 4:33 p.m. SpaceX has a split-second launch window.

Hurley flew on the final shuttle mission aboard Atlantis in 2011. In the midst of more development than weve ever had before in NASAs history, we are going launch American astronauts in American rockets from American soil, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said. The Dragon spacecraft is a capsule. It is the same launch pad used to launch Apollo 11 to the moon and employed on the last shuttle mission to end an era. Just a few seconds after the first stage separation, the rocket's second stage will fire its engines for about six minutes.

(SpaceX via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. Its back to the future as NASA astronauts launch again from the U.S. aboard a retro-style Right Stuff capsule. SpaceXs Dragon crew capsule outshines NASAs old Apollo spacecraft in virtually every way. This fresh take on a vintage look will be on full display Wednesday when SpaceX plans to launch NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to the International Space Station a first for a private company. Russias workhorse Soyuz capsules, still in use after a half-century plus, have kept NASA astronauts flying to the space station. A test dummy soloed on last years Dragon crew capsule debut.

Elon Musk's SpaceX is the conductor and NASA the customer as businesses begin chauffeuring astronauts to the International Space Station. The drama unfolds from the exact spot where men flew to the moon and the last space shuttle soared from Kennedy Space Center. NASAs newest test pilots, Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, are launching from home turf with SpaceX presiding over the countdown. Plagued with software problems, Boeings Starliner capsule is still a year from launching with Ferguson and two NASA astronauts. In terms of launch power, the relatively small Falcon 9 has far less than the space shuttle did, another layer of safety.