As part of their commercial Crew program, NASA and SpaceX are preparing to launch astronauts to the International Space Station next month.
The launch of Crew-2 kicks off the program’s second crew rotation tour.
The joint mission will carry astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur of NASA, Akihiko Hoshide of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft launching the Falcon 9 rocket on his way to the space station.
The mission is expected to take off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 20.
According to NASA, the team is scheduled to stay long-term aboard the orbiting laboratory.
They will spend several months doing science and maintenance before the astronauts return to Earth in the fall of 2021.
The four astronauts were assigned to the Crew-2 mission in July 2020.
They have been working and training for the long time staying aboard the space station.
NASA’s commercial crew program has been in the making for years.
Last year, Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley exploded into orbit from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida that ended a nine-year thirst for NASA.
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