UPDATE 4:00pm Mission Scrubbed due to weather

History will unfold today as NASA and SpaceX launch astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley to the International Space Station. This mission marks the first time since the retirement of the space shuttle in 2011 that humans will fly to the space station from U.S. soil.  Targeted Launch Time 4:33pm EDT  – Livestreams Ongoing

NASA and SpaceX are providing live coverage from launch to arrival at the space station. Teams are targeting 4:33 p.m. EDT for the launch of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket from historic Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The Crew Dragon is scheduled to dock to the space station at 11:29 a.m. Thursday, May 28.

NASA Livestream Link – SpaceX Livestream Link – CSPAN Livestream Link

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From the White House – Today, President Donald J. Trump spoke to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) astronauts Christa Koch and Jessica Meir during the first all-woman spacewalk from the International Space Station (ISS). Both Koch and Meir were members of NASA’s 2013 astronaut class, half of whom were women. Koch is currently serving on an extended mission to the ISS and is scheduled to achieve the record for the longest stay in space by a woman. The President was joined on the call by Vice President Mike Pence, Advisor to the President Ivanka Trump, and NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. [Video Below]

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[Transcript] THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody. Okay. Thank you very much. I think we’re getting ready to do something very exciting. Jim, do you want to take over?
ADMINISTRATOR BRIDENSTINE: Sure. So this is a —
OPERATOR: Christina and Jessica, please stand by for a call from the President of the United States.
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Today President Trump is participating in the formal establishment of US Space Command as a unified combatant command, ie. “space force”.
The President is expected to deliver public remarks for the first time since returning from the G-7 Summit in France and since the Justice Department Inspector General released the report on former FBI Director James Comey’s handling of the Russia investigation. Anticipated Start time 4:15pm EST

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The United States and NASA celebrate 50 years since the Apollo 11 moon landing.  On this incredible anniversary Vice-President Mike Pence and historic astronaut Buzz Aldrin discuss the past (Apollo) and future (Artemis) of space exploration.

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Earlier today, during an informal presser in the Oval Office, President Trump commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.  In addition to the Apollo event, the president took questions from media. [Video and Transcript below]

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[Transcript] PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, thank you very much. Tomorrow is a very big day because tomorrow will represent 50 years from the time we planted a beautiful American flag on the moon. And that was an achievement — possibly, one of the great — considered one of the great achievements ever. And we’re going a lot further now. We’re going to the moon but we’re then going to Mars.
And I think, very importantly — and all of you folks know that, from a standpoint of defense, so important, where we’re going to be doing the Space Force. I assume you guys are all a fan of the Space Force, right? I’d be very surprised if you weren’t. But that’s where it’s at.
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Earlier today President Trump signed Space Force Policy Directive #4 and held a brief presser in the Oval Office.  [Video and Transcript Below]  During questions, President Trump answered a variety of questions on: McCabe, China, N-Korea and Bernie Sanders.

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[Transcript] 2:11 P.M. EST – THE PRESIDENT: Okay, thank you very much. I had a great conversation this morning with President Moon of South Korea. And we obviously discussed the upcoming trip next week, where we’re going Hanoi, in Vietnam. And I look forward to be with Chairman Kim, and I think a lot of things will come out of it.
We had a tremendous first summit. That was really breaking the ice, but a lot of things came from that, including good relationships. And we’re looking forward to having a very good meeting. And President Moon and I discussed, I think, probably every aspect of the meeting; it was a good conversation. I’ll be speaking tomorrow with Prime Minister Abe of Japan, and we’ll be having a similar conversation. So I think next week is going to be very exciting.
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In 2017, President Trump established his National Space Council, a body of senior officials charged with developing modern policies for commercial and international space utilization. On March 23, 2018, President Trump announced his National Space Strategy, which recognizes that America’s competitors have turned space into a warfighting domain, and charts a whole-of-government approach to maintaining America’s leadership in space.
On June 18, 2018, President Trump directed the Department of Defense to immediately begin the important process of establishing Space Force as the sixth branch of the armed forces.  Defense Secretary James Mattis introduces Vice President Mike Pence today:

[Transcript] The Pentagon – Arlington, Virginia, 11:17 A.M. EDT: THE VICE PRESIDENT: Secretary Mattis, Deputy Secretary Shanahan, General Selva, General Goldfein, members of the Armed Forces of the United States of America, and all the men and women of the United States Department of Defense who each and every day oversee the greatest military in the history of the world: Thank you for all you do every day for the American people. (Applause.)
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