A Falcon 9 Crew Dragon getting readied for the launch of Crew-2 on launch pad 39A on 22 April 2021 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. French ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet is returning to the International Space Station on his second spaceflight.
The mission, which is called Alpha, will see the first European to launch on a US spacecraft in over a decade. Thomas is flying on the Crew Dragon, alongside NASA astronauts Megan MacArthur and Shane Kimbrough, and Japanese astronaut Aki Hoshide.
After a delay due to difficult weather the launch is now planned for 23 April 2021 05:49 EDT / 11:49 CEST.
Background information on the Alpha mission is available at www.esa.int/MissionAlpha with a brochure at www.esa.int/AlphaBrochure.