Crew 10 Rises To Orbit, On Its Way To ISS

It was a good day to have a good day here in Florida, and that’s exactly what NASA, SpaceX and Crew-10 had today at Kennedy Space Center. Falcon 9 lifted off carrying three astronauts and one cosmonaut towards orbit and the International Space Station just as the sun was starting to set in the west. Some seven and a half minutes later, SpaceX booster B1090 completed its duty for the day by landing at LZ-1 in Cape Canaveral, 8.8 miles south of LC-39A.

Mechanical issues previously delayed the launch, which was originally scheduled for Wednesday, March 12th, but hydraulic issues with ground-side equipment scotched that attempt, with the second launch attempt planned for today. This evening’s attempt was literally picture-perfect, and Falcon 9 rose like clockwork after a quiet countdown.

Crew Dragon Endurance is now in orbit, with NASA Astronauts Anne McClain,  Nichole Ayers, JAXA Astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos Cosmonaut Kirill Peskov aboard. The spacecraft will track down ISS, with docking planned to dock autonomously to the forward-facing port of the station’s Harmony module at approximately 11:30 p.m. tomorrow.

Launch Replay

Trajectory

Falcon 9 took the familiar northeastward corridor to ISS, with a destination orbit of 51.6º, the inclination of ISS.

Next Launch

While not officially announced by SpaceX, Starlink 12-16 is expected to launch early Saturday morning.

• Organization: SpaceX
• Location: Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
• Rocket: Falcon 9
• Pad: Space Launch Complex 40
• Status: To Be Confirmed
• Status Info: Awaiting official confirmation – current date is known with some certainty due to information found at secondary sources.
• Window Opens: Saturday, 03/15/2025 6:28:00 AM
• Window Closes: Saturday, 03/15/2025 10:59:00 AM
• Destination: Low Earth Orbit
• Mission Description: A batch of 23 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation – SpaceX’s project for space-based Internet communication system.

Image Collage by Richard P Gallagher | FMN

Jim Siegel’s Photos

Long-time space journalist and photographer Jim Siegel captured these scenes at the Crew 10 liftoff:

Photojournalist Eric Moore’s Launch Photos