BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — NASA and several astronauts are gearing up for two more scheduled launches to the International Space Station from the Space Coast in the coming weeks.
>>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<<
Axiom-1 is scheduled to launch Wednesday from Pad 39-A at Kennedy Space Center, marking the first all-private mission to ISS.
The crew will spend eight days docked at the station. After teams have had to review their mission, then Crew-4 will launch on April 20.
READ: Orlando-area couple launches into space on Blue Origin flight
Crew-4 is the NASA’s fourth operational mission to the International Space Station under the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. A SpaceX Crew Dragon named Freedom will carry NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, Jessica Watkins and European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti to ISS.
The Crew-3 astronauts will return about five days after the launch of Crew-4. Then in May, Boeing will fly its second uncrewed flight test to ISS. That will be followed by a SpaceX cargo mission in June.
READ: NASA looks ahead to more trips to the moon beyond Artemis I
On Friday, NASA will begin a two-day wet dress rehearsal for the launch of Artemis 1, an uncrewed flight test around the moon.
Next week, SpaceX will launch Axiom-1, the first private astronaut mission to ISS.
On Thursday, NASA welcomed astronaut Mark Vande Hei back to Houston after a record stay aboard ISS.
READ: A look at the Space Coast’s busy week ahead
This browser does not support the video element.
Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.