Watch SpaceX launch Crew-9 astronaut mission to the ISS

Update for 2 p.m. ET: SpaceX successfully launched the Crew-9 astronaut mission for NASA at 1:17 p.m. EDT (1517 GMT). Read our full wrap and see launch videos and photos.

SpaceX will launch two astronauts on a sort of rescue mission today (Sept. 28), and you can watch it live.

Crew-9, the ninth operational SpaceX astronaut flight to the International Space Station (ISS) for NASA, is scheduled to lift off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station today at 1:17 pm EDT (1717 GMT).

You can watch the event live here at Space.com via NASA+, formerly NASA Television. Coverage will begin at 9:10 a.m. EDT (1310 GMT). Follow our Crew-9 mission updates page for live launch updates.

The two astronauts on board are commander Nick Hague, who is with NASA and the U.S. Space Force , and mission specialist Aleksandr Gorbunov, of the Russian space agency Roscosmos .

Assuming today's launch goes on time, Hague and Gorbunov are scheduled to dock with the ISS on Sunday (Sept. 29) at 5:30 p.m. EDT (2230 GMT), with coverage starting on NASA+ two hours beforehand. The hatch opening between the station and Dragon will occur at roughly 7:15 p.m. EDT (2315 GMT).

Related: SpaceX's Crew-9 astronaut flight for NASA launches this week. Here's how it turned into a rescue mission

SpaceX Crew Dragon capsules usually carry four people to the ISS on such missions. But Crew-9 is leaving two seats empty so the Dragon can bring home two NASA astronauts — Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams — who reached the orbiting lab in June, on the first-ever crewed mission of Boeing's Starliner capsule. Starliner returned to Earth uncrewed on Sept. 7 , however, after suffering thruster problems in orbit.

— SpaceX moving Crew Dragon splashdowns to West Coast after multiple space debris incidents

— NASA cuts 2 astronauts from SpaceX Crew-9 mission to make room for Boeing Starliner crew

— SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket failure forces NASA to evaluate astronaut launch schedule for ISS

So Crew-9's Dragon was pressed into service to bring the Starliner duo home in February 2025. A crew shuffle happened in August, removing rookie Zena Cardman and three-time space shuttle astronaut Stephanie Wilson from Crew-9 to make room for Williams and Wilmore. (Wilson and Cardman are eligible for future missions.)

In the unlikely event the ISS needs an emergency evacuation before Crew-9 arrives, there's yet another backup for Williams and Wilmore: they will use the Crew-8 Dragon capsule, which remains docked at the station (and will depart shortly after Crew-9 arrives). Since four astronauts are already assigned to Crew-8's seats, Wilmore and Williams would use temporary seats in the cargo area should that scenario unfold.

Once Crew-9 docks, Williams and Wilmore's emergency evacuation plans will pivot to using that spacecraft instead.