A Look at Today’s Launch Milestones
We’re just a few hours away from the launch of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission. Below are some of the key milestones leading up to launch and critical events that occur after liftoff. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft are scheduled to lift off at 12:09 p.m. EDT from the historic Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Time (EDT) Event (All times approximate)
9:09 a.m. Suit donning and checkouts
9:49 a.m. Crew walkout from Neil A. Armstrong Operations & Checkout Building
9:54 a.m. Crew transportation to launch pad
10:14 a.m. Crew arrives at pad and ascends tower
10:34 a.m. Crew enters SpaceX Dragon spacecraft
10:49 a.m. Communication check
10:54 a.m. Seat rotation
10:55 a.m. Suit leak checks
11:14 a.m. Hatch close
11:24 a.m. SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for propellant load
11:27 a.m. Crew access arm retracts
11:30 a.m. Dragon’s launch escape system is armed
11:34 a.m. RP-1 (rocket grade kerosene) loading begins
11:34 a.m. 1st stage LOX (liquid oxygen) loading begins
11:53 a.m. 2nd stage LOX loading begins
12:02 p.m. Falcon 9 begins engine chill prior to launch
12:04 p.m. Dragon transitions to internal power
12:08 p.m. Command flight computer to begin final prelaunch checks
12:08 p.m. Propellant tank pressurization to flight pressure begins
12:08 p.m. SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for launch
12:09 p.m. Falcon 9 liftoff
12:10 p.m. Max Q (moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket)
12:11 p.m. 1st stage main engine cutoff (MECO)
12:11 p.m. 1st and 2nd stages separate
12:11 p.m. 2nd stage engine starts
12:12 p.m. 1st stage entry burn starts
12:12 p.m. 2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO-1)
12:18 p.m. Dragon separates from 2nd stage
12:19 p.m. Dragon nosecone open sequence begins
NASA’s live coverage of Crew-11 activities is airing now on NASA+, Netflix, Amazon Prime and more. You also can follow along on the mission blog, @NASAKennedy on X, or NASA Kennedy on Facebook.
