SpaceX, NASA gear up for historic launch
SpaceX prepares to launch two NASA astronauts in first manned flight from U.S. soil since 2011; Phil Keating reports.
Ahead of the historic launch of NASA astronauts on Wednesday, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said if it goes wrong, he's putting the blame squarely on himself.
"I'm the chief engineer of this thing so I'd just like to say that if it goes right, it's credit to the SpaceX-NASA team," Musk told CBS This Morning. "If it goes wrong, it's my fault."
On Wednesday, NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley will be launched to the International Space Station in a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket. The launch is the first time that astronauts have launched from American soil since 2011.
WASHINGTON DC, USA - MARCH 9: Elon Musk, Founder and Chief Engineer of SpaceX, attends the Satellite 2020 Conference in Washington, DC, United States on March 9, 2020. (Photo by Yasin Ozturk/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
SPACEX, NASA, ASTRONAUTS MAKING FINAL PREPARATIONS: 'WE'RE GO FOR LAUNCH'
"This is the culmination of a dream. This is a dream come true," Musk added. "In fact, it feels surreal. If you'd asked me when starting SpaceX if this would happen, I'd be like '1 percent chance, 0.1 percent chance.'"
It will be the first time a private company, rather than a national government, sends astronauts into orbit.
In this Friday, Jan. 17, 2020 photo made available by NASA, astronauts Doug Hurley, left, and Robert Behnken pose in front of a Tesla Model X car during a SpaceX launch dress rehearsal at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The NASA astronauts rode to the pad in the electric vehicle made by Elon Musk's company. ((Kim Shiflett/NASA via AP))
Since 2011, the U.S. has relied on Russian Soyuz rockets launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to get astronauts into space. Russia charges the U.S. about $75 million to send an astronaut into space.
NASA recently agreed to pay Russian space agency Roscosmos $90 million for one final seat on one of its Soyuz rockets.
The launch is scheduled to take place at 4:33 p.m. EST from Cape Canaveral, Fla. SpaceX and NASA are "closely monitoring launch and downrange weather," SpaceX tweeted Wednesday.
Musk also noted the Atlantic weather review would play a factor into whether the launch can take place as scheduled.
On Tuesday evening, there was a 60 percent favorable weather reading for the launch. If the weather negatively impacts the launch, Saturday and Sunday are the back-up days.
Speaking during a news briefing Tuesday, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine described the launch as “a unique opportunity” to bring all of America together in one moment in time. Both NASA and SpaceX have been diligent about making sure everyone in the launch loop knows they're free to halt the countdown if there's a concern, Bridenstine added.
Some 45 seconds from liftoff the SpaceX launch director will give the final go after everyone has been polled on Wednesday. However, Bridenstine noted that NASA has the "right to intervene" if it sees something it disagrees with.
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Fox News’ James Rogers, Kristin Fisher and The Associated Press contributed to this article.