On September 28, a SpaceX mission with two passengers on board will be launched, which aims to return two astronauts who have been stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) for months, AFP reported.
The launch of the Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled for 13:17 (20:17 Bulgarian time) from Cape Canaveral, Florida, NASA announced.
A new launch pad will be used for a manned mission for the first time.
NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov will be on board.
When they return from the space station in February, they will bring back two veteran astronauts - Butch Wilmore and Sonny Williams - whose stay on the ISS was extended for months by problems with their Boeing-built Starliner spacecraft.
The newly developed Starliner was making its first crewed flight when it delivered Wilmore and Williams to the ISS in June.
They were only supposed to stay there for 8 days, but after problems arose with the Starliner's propulsion system during the flight there, NASA was forced to make a radical change of plans. | BGNES