SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Lifts Off With Crew 8 at 10.53pm EST (Mar. 3): Four Astronauts Are En Route to the ISS

(Merritt Island, Florida) SpaceX’s Falcon 9 tonight launched Crew Dragon Endeavor’s eighth operational human spaceflight mission, Crew-8 – carrying four astronauts and NASA’s and SpaceX’s 30th resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) – at 10.53pm EST from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 sits on the pad at NASA Kennedy Space Center prior to lifting off on SpaceX’s and NASA’s Crew-8 mission, courtesy of Space.com.

Details about the mission can be found in The FLY Report’s post from earlier this evening.

Some callouts from the livestream following second stage cutoff, once the crew reached nominal orbit:

• “Dragon, SpaceX, this is your Launch Chief Engineer…welcome to Orbit!…we trust that all the science and work you’re about to do will continue to move humanity further toward the stars. We hope you enjoyed the ride and thank you for flying Falcon 9!"
• "Dragon, hope the ride was as awesome as the cyber truck. Have a safe journey to the space station and we look forward to seeing you when you get home. Thank you for flying SpaceX!”

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 lifts off on SpaceX’s and NASA’s eighth operational human spaceflight mission (Crew-8), courtesy of John Krauss on Instagram, @johnkraussphotos.