KENNEDY SPACE CENTER — The countdown is on to the historic NASA-SpaceX Crew-2 launch scheduled for Friday.

What You Need To Know

Liftoff is now set for Friday morning due to unfavorable weather in the flight path. Originally, the mission was supposed to happen on Thursday.

If we see a successful launch, the crew and lots of science will be on their way to the International Space Station.

The 45th Weather Squadron stated that there is a 90% chance of favorable weather for the launch.

The four astronauts arrived from Houston to the Kennedy Space Center a week ago and have been prepping for the journey to the International Space Station.

NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, plus Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Aki Hoshide and European Space Agency's Thomas Pesquet are set to head up on a SpaceX Crew Dragon from Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center.

Commander Kimbrough spoke of the camaraderie his team has developed during their training. 

“I've spent a lot of time with these folks, and we've gotten to be really good friends, which is only going to play out further on the space station,” he said.

Also heading up on the mission is a big upgrade to the orbiting outpost's solar power system.

A tissue chip experiment will be conducted and scientists hope by studying the chips in the microgravity environment that it will help develop safe vaccines for people here on Earth.

Once Crew-2 arrives, there will be 11 astronauts on board the ISS. NASA says adding more people means more time for scientific research.

Crew-2 will spend six months in orbit and will come home with an Atlantic Ocean splashdown.