The next astronaut launch to the International Space Station (ISS) is just around the corner.

The Falcon 9 launch from Pad 40 is the first for a human spaceflight. Crews riding on SpaceX's Dragon typically take off from Kennedy Space Center's Pad 39A but work is being done on that location.

Launch and recovery weather play a large part in timing. This will be the first human spaceflight to orbit the poles. The crew will fly in their Dragon spacecraft on a 90-degree circular orbit.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 booster is a key component of the company’s crewed and uncrewed spaceflight missions. [Courtesy: SpaceX] SpaceX’s Falcon 9 booster, a key piece of the company’s crewed ...

The Axiom-4 mission, with a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket, lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on June 25, 2025.

The mission will venture out where no other human spaceflight mission has gone before, flying over the planet’s polar regions at an altitude of around 265 to 280 miles (425 to 450 kilometers ...