NASA counts down for today's historic return to space from U.S. soil

NASA said Wednesday that all systems are “go” for an historic space mission this afternoon, when Americans will blast into space from home soil for the first time in nearly 10 years, according to NASA.

Astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley are scheduled to launch at 4:33 p.m. (eastern time) from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, headed for the International Space Station. The two will travel aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon commercial spacecraft.

Weather could still be a factor. The Space Coast has had off-and-on thunderstorms all day. The National Weather Service forecasts a 60% chance of rain at about liftoff.

President Trump and Vice President Pence will be on hand to watch the launch.

The spacemen last night stood near “the glass wall of astronaut quarantine,” Behnken wrote on Twitter, and traded fist bumps with NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and other officials.

This morning, Hurley tweeted, they enjoyed a traditional astronauts' breakfast of steak and eggs.

“The teams are ready and we are ready,” Hurley tweeted.

The last launch from the United States was in 2011, when NASA retired the Space Shuttle. Since then, American space travelers have left Earth from ports in Kazakhstan. 

Today’s launch will particularly be poignant for Hurley, who was pilot on the Space Shuttle’s final flight in July 2011.

“It’s incredibly humbling” to be on the mission, Hurley told reporters during a tarmac press conference last week.

The two men will remain in space for a “while,” they said, noting that they don’t have a set date to return to Earth. 

The Crew Dragon mission will test the SpaceX crew transportation system before it goes into service ferrying astronauts to the space station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. 

If weather forces NASA to cancel the launch, the mission will take place on Saturday. The launch can be viewed today on NASA live.