NASA, SpaceX Target Oct. 31 for Historic Manned Mission to Space Station

NASA and SpaceX are aiming 2:40 a.m. EDT Saturday, October 31, for the launch of the SpaceX Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) astronauts, according to the NASA briefing.

Astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker of NASA and Soichi Noguchi of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency will be transported to the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Xinhua reports.

The launch will be the first time that the foreign crew can fly aboard a NASA-certified, privately owned and operated American rocket and spacecraft from American soil, NASA said.

Following the launch, the Crew-1 astronauts are expected to arrive at the space station for a six-month science mission on board the orbiting laboratory.

NASA is in the final stages of the data reviews needed ahead of certification following the agency's SpaceX Demo-2 test flight launched in May 30 and returned on Aug. 2 this year.