NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 Departs Houston

The official portrait of the four members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission to the International Space Station. From left, are Roscosmos cosmonaut and Mission Specialist Oleg Platonov; NASA astronaut and Pilot Mike Fincke; JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut and Mission Specialist Kimiya Yui; and NASA astronaut and Commander Zena Cardman. NASA/Robert Markowitz

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 crew members are in the air and on their way to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to prepare for launch to the International Space Station.

NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov departed from Ellington Field aboard NASA’s Gulfstream near the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston at about 11 a.m. EDT and are expected to land around 1 p.m. EDT at NASA Kennedy’s Launch and Landing Facility.

Upon landing, Crew-11 will be greeted on the runway by representatives from NASA Kennedy and the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, before speaking briefly to members of the media. After remarks, the crew will head to Astronaut Crew Quarters inside Kennedy’s Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkouts Building, where they will continue to quarantine through launch.

Watch live coverage of the crew arrival media event on NASA Kennedy’s social media and YouTube accounts.

Liftoff is targeted for no earlier than 12:09 p.m. EDT on Thursday, July 31, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA Kennedy aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.