UPDATE: The launch has been postponed due to adverse weather and has been rescheduled to Saturday.
-end of update-
Keep an eye on the skies.
Elon Musk has been in the news a lot recently and not a lot of it has been related to his planned space exploration.
But that changes today as Musk and his private spacecraft company, SpaceX, are set to have their first ever manned space mission, weather permitting.
At 4.33pm EST (that’s 9.33pm in Ireland), SpaceX will launch two NASA astronauts in a mission that will take them from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral to the the international space station (ISS).
The historic mission is set to pass over Ireland between 9.40pm and 10pm tonight and will be visible so make sure not to miss it.
The weather has caused some concerns especially if an emergency landing has to be made.
Mission managers gave the rocket and capsule no more than a 50-50 chance of launching Wednesday. However, preparations are underway in the hope of a break in the weather before the planned launch.
Sunset pic.twitter.com/fpLhlqvuJg
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 27, 2020
Musk founded SpaceX in 2002 with the ultimate goal of creating more affordable spacecraft and has frequently said his aim is to colonise Mars in the future.
The hardware used in the launch was built by Musk’s SpaceX but part-funded by the US government under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP).
Both President Donald Trump and the vice-president, Mike Pence, are attending the launch attempt.
Trump has placed a heavy focus on space travel through the foundation of Space Force as a branch of the US military and independent from NASA.
Main image via Twitter/elonmusk
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