SpaceX set to launch mission to bring Starliner astronauts back to Earth

Enlarge / SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft is ready for launch atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. (credit: SpaceX)

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov are ready for launch Saturday from Florida’s Space Coast aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, heading for a five-month expedition on the International Space Station.

The two-man crew is set for liftoff on top of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket at 1:17 pm EDT (17:17 UTC). The weather forecast is a little iffy, with a 55 percent chance of favorable conditions for liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. You can watch the launch on NASA’s YouTube livestream, embedded here.