Astronauts are about to launch on a used rocket, inside a used spacecraft

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  Flight-proven Falcon 9 B1061 stands ready to support the Crew-2 mission to the International Space Station, seen here on Thursday morning. [credit: Trevor Mahlmann / Ars Technica ]

SpaceX and NASA say they are ready for the launch of four astronauts to the International Space Station early on Friday morning.

This Crew-2 mission—comprising NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and European astronaut Thomas Pesquet—is scheduled to launch from Kennedy Space Center at 5:49 am EDT (09:49 UTC) on Friday. Weather conditions appear favorable, but if there is an issue SpaceX, has a backup opportunity on Monday at 4:48 am EDT (08:48 UTC).

With this mission, SpaceX will be seeking to fly astronauts into orbit for the third time, following the Demo-2 mission in May 2020 and the Crew-1 mission in November. Notably, this launch will seek to reuse the Falcon 9 rocket first stage (from the Crew-1 launch) and the Crew Dragon spacecraft (from Demo-2).