SpaceX launch live update online | Ax-1 private space mission to the ISS

What to expect from the launch

Here is some long exposure footage from the last SpaceX launch at the beginning of this month. 

Rockets break up in stages during lift-off as used boosters are jettisoned from the craft. All of this will happen within three minutes of the launch, so make sure you are watching at the moment it all begins; taking the time to make a cup of tea could make you miss all the fireworks.

What space craft is being used?

The crew of seven will be travelling in the Dragon spacecraft. According to the SpaceX website, the craft is, "the only spacecraft currently flying that is capable of returning significant amounts of cargo to Earth, and is the first private spacecraft to take humans to the space station."

So far, the craft has been used in 32 launches, 29 to the ISS. 

What time is the launch?

The team is expected to be hurled into space at 11:17 EDT or 08:17 PDT.

For Europe, the rocket will be launched at 15:17 GMT or 16:17 CET.

Welcome to the AS USA livestream of Friday's SpaceX launch

Good afternoon, and welcome to our live updates for the SpaceX launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Led by Texas startup Axiom Space, the Ax-1 mission will be the first all-commercial team of astronauts to be using the International Space Station (ISS). They will spend eight days in space before returning. The team has seven regular crew members: three American astronauts, a German astronaut and three Russian cosmonauts.