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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
World
Sophie McCoid

SpaceX rocket carrying astronauts will fly across the UK tonight

A historic rocket will take off tonight from the USA, carrying astronauts, and you'll be able to see it in the sky in the UK.

The Demo-2 manned mission is a joint project by SpaceX and NASA and will be the first time astronauts have set off from US soil since 2011.

The two experienced NASA astronauts Robert Behnken, 48, and Douglas Hurley, 53, will travel to the International Space Station on the Falcon 9 rocket, inside a Crew Dragon capsule built for the task.

The Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule will blast off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The historic launch pad has previously hosted Apollo and space shuttle missions.

The rocket will lift-off at around 4.33pm EDT (9.33pm BST) and if it all goes to plan, it means we could see the rocket flying over the UK 15 minutes later, which will be around 9.45-9.50pm.

The SpaceX Falcon 9, with the Dragon capsule on top of the rocket, is raised onto Launch Pad 39-A Tuesday, May 26, 2020, (AP)

NASA will provide streaming coverage of prelaunch, launch and ISS docking activities through NASA TV - reports Cnet.

The launch timing will depend on good weather conditions both at the launch site and out in the ocean where the crew capsule would splash down in case of an emergency during launch.

NASA TV will provide continuous coverage from launch through docking.

SpaceX will also provide a launch webcast.

NASA is viewing the SpaceX Demo-2 mission as the dawn of "a new era of human spaceflight."

NASA has not yet decided exactly how long Behnken and Hurley will remain on the ISS.

NASA said: "They will perform tests on Crew Dragon in addition to conducting research and other tasks with the space station crew."

The astronauts will return on Crew Dragon and splash down in the Atlantic where they will be greeted by a SpaceX recovery vessel.

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