NASA, SpaceX discuss upcoming Crew-2 ISS mission

As part of its Commercial Crew Program, NASA and SpaceX are gearing up to launch astronauts to the International Space Station next month.

The Crew-2 launch will kick off the program's second crew rotation mission.

The joint mission will carry astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur of NASA, Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft launching atop a Falcon 9 rocket on its way to the space station.

The mission is scheduled to lift off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 20th.

According to NASA, the crew is scheduled for a long-duration stay aboard the orbiting laboratory.

They will spend several months conducting science and maintenance before the astronauts return to Earth in fall 2021.

All four astronauts were assigned to the Crew-2 mission in July 2020.

They've been working and training for their long-duration stay aboard the space station.

NASA's commercial crew program has been years in the making.

Last year, Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley blasted into orbit from Florida's Kennedy Space Center ending a nine-year drought for NASA.