LIVE: NASA, SpaceX Launch Crew-8 Mission to International Space Station (ISS)

Dragon, SpaceX, for an update, teams are still working, expect more words here in a few minutes, shooting for T, minus 10 minutes to get you a brief. Dragon. Stage 2 lock float has started. Dragon, SpaceX, for a follow-up. Go ahead. Alright, we are confident that we understand the issue and we can still fly the whole mission safely. We're comfortable proceeding because the condition is bounding by existing analysis, as already mentioned. Additionally, we expect the gap created by this crack in the seal to close as the material will swell with re-entry heating. And finally, it's on the lower heating side of the vehicle during re-entry. The engineering team here is comfortable proceeding. How copy? Dragon, copy. Okay, with that, Crew 8, confirm displays are configured for launch. SpaceX, Dragon, displays are configured for launch. Crew 7, this is Crew 8, we're coming for you. It's time for Crew 8 to relieve you of the watch on the International Space Station. SpaceX, Dragon, we are ready for you to cast off to Strongback and launch Dragon Endeavour on its fifth voyage. We copied all. Godspeed, Crew 8. Engine chill has started. Stage 1 RP1 load complete. Dragon is in configured for terminal count. Falcon 9 tanks pressurizing for Strongback retract. Strongback retract has started. Stage 1 lock float complete. Dragon is in terminal count and is on internal power. Stage 2 lock float complete. Dragon is in auto-idle. Ground gas close out, expect labs venting. FTS is armed, Falcon 9 is in startup and is now controlling. Dragon is in count down. Dragon, SpaceX, go for launch. Dragon, copy. Go for launch. T-minus 30 seconds. 15 seconds. T-minus 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Ignition. Engines full power and liftoff of NASA Crew 8. Go Falcon, go SpaceX, and go NASA. Vehicle is pitching downrange. One alpha. Copy, one alpha. Stage 1 propulsion is nominal. Nominal power and telemetry. Stage 1 throttle down. Stage 1 throttle up. One bravo. Copy, one bravo. And vac shell has started. Stage 1 throttle down. Niko. Stage separation confirmed. And vac ignition. Two alpha. Copy, two alpha. Dragon, SpaceX, trajectory nominal. Dragon. Dragon, SpaceX, trajectory nominal. Dragon. Dragon, SpaceX, trajectory nominal. Dragon. Dragon, SpaceX, trajectory nominal. Dragon. Stage 2 FTS is saved. Stage 2 in terminal guidance. Shannon. Copy, Shannon. And vac shutdown. Dragon, SpaceX, nominal orbit insertion. Dragon, copy. Launch escape system disarmed. Dragon, SpaceX. Dragon, SpaceX, this is your launch chief engineer. Welcome to orbit. It truly is our greatest honor for you to trust us to launch you into space. It's been a pleasure working with you, and we trust that all the science and work you're about to do will continue to move humanity further towards the stars. We hope you enjoyed the ride, and thank you for flying on Falcon 9. Please send our regards to Crew 7, and make sure to remind them you just wanted to be fashionably late. I'll hand it off to the launch director for a few words. Dragon, LD, I hope the ride was as awesome as a Cybertruck. Have a safe journey to the space station, and we'll look forward to seeing you when you get home. Thank you for flying SpaceX. SpaceX, oh my goodness, what an incredible ride to orbit. I'm both glad and not glad that you don't have a copy of our ICS that cheers the whole way up for incredible. A big thank you to SpaceX for incredible instructors. Tyler, I'm talking to you and your team right now. Incredible instructors, engineers, and operators. They're the reason we are now safely in orbit. A thank you to NASA, Roscosmos, CSA, ESA, JAXA, who worked together to make the International Space Station work for us all. And of course, a big thank you to my family, friends, and mentors, who are the reason we're here today. Over to you, Mike. Yeah, hey, Earth. Just to let you know, it's kind of like a rollercoaster ride with a bunch of really excited teenagers. Just want to mention, the NASA community is just a really warm but steely-eyed family that does amazing things. It kind of hugs you, but it pushes you into the unknown while watching your back. It's really been an incredible place for me to grow over these past 30-plus years. And now I'm really honored to fly this new generation spaceship with this new generation crew. Thanks to my own family for tolerating my otherworldly habits. Thanks to NASA for being the backbone of exploration that we are. And just thanks so much to our friends and colleagues at SpaceX for the awesome ride. It's great to be back in space again. And I would like to second Mike and Matt's words. I'm super excited to be here. And, you know, I knew that... And the words that come to my mind is that I'm so grateful and I'm thankful for everyone who got us to this point. There's no way we would have been able to do this without all the people. From all the instructors, from all the people supporting on the ground, to the folks in the kitchen who kept us fed and moved out in SpaceX. I'm so grateful for everyone. And I just want to give a big thanks to my family and friends who came from all over the world to see this. Thank you for supporting me through all the days of waiting to get to this point. Thank you for everything. And I want to give a shout-out, a quick shout-out to my sisters who couldn't make it, Brenda and Patty. And then I also want to give a nod to Syracuse who supported me through everything. And I am in a New York state of mind right now. It is amazing. Thank you for everything. Warm greetings to everyone from the orbit. I would like to express huge gratitude to Roscosmos, NASA, ESA, JAXA team, and all who took part in preparation and implementation. A separate shout-out to my family and friends. Thank you for your support. My son, Seryozha, Vlad, Sasha, be good. Kuzbassat muski. See you soon. Warm greetings to everyone from the orbit. I would like to express huge gratitude to Roscosmos, NASA, ESA, JAXA team, and all who took part in preparation and implementation. A separate shout-out to my family and friends. Thank you for your support. My sons, Seryozha, Vlad, Sasha, be good. Kuzbassat muski. See you soon. The nose cone opening is in progress. We saw nominal dehumidifier activation and service section Draco checkouts. With that, you're go to raise visors. And I've got one final note. We have a tradition on board this spacecraft for its travelers to bring a small token, a zero-G indicator, if you will, to clearly demonstrate the free-floating nature of objects traveling in orbit around the Earth. And I wonder if you've brought anything fitting that description. Well, you should ask. Oh, man. So, for tradition, we, of course, have a zero-G indicator. It's already been deployed. The significance of our zero-G indicator is not actually what it is, but who chose it. Many parents around the world have jobs that take them away from their children and families for long periods of time to serve their communities, their country, and the world. Notary families are a prime example, but many jobs, including our own, share this trait. The choice of the zero-G indicator was given to my daughters to represent the sacrifice that children everywhere make while their parents are serving away from home. We chose a stuffed family dog, and she is free-floating here today. Matt, we copied all good words. I think we don't have video inside the capsule. We'll have to come back with you in a minute for a video of that stuffed dog. No worries. Dragon, SpaceX, we see a nominal nose cone opening, TCS, and forward bulkhead Draco checkouts, and we see an upcoming burn in 23 minutes, 2-3.