SpaceX Completes Falcon 9 Static Fire Test Ahead Of Crew-1 Mission Launch On 14 November

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft that will launch four astronauts to the International Space Station, the Crew-1 mission, has completed a key prelaunch milestone, the integrated static fire.

Crew Dragon is targeting launch on a Falcon 9 on Saturday (14 November) at 7.49 pm EST from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

"Static fire of Falcon 9 complete -- targeting Saturday, November 14 at 7.49 p.m. EST for launch of Crew Dragon's first operational mission to the @space_station with four astronauts on board," SpaceX said in a tweet on Thursday.

"Teams will continue monitoring weather conditions for liftoff and along the flight path," it added.

"#SpaceX #NASA #Crew1 just finished final dress rehearsal, getting ready for Saturday launch! Behind me is "real" #Dragon spacecraft," Noguchi said in a tweet.

The Crew Dragon, including the Falcon 9 rocket and associated ground systems, is the first new, crew spacecraft to be NASA-certified for regular flights with astronauts since the space shuttle nearly 40 years ago.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)