"NASA and SpaceX Crew-8 Prepares for March 1 Launch to Space Station"

Three NASA astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut have arrived at the Kennedy Space Center to prepare for their launch to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket early Friday. The crew will embark on a six-month tour of duty, with plans to conduct a dress rehearsal countdown and test fire the Falcon 9's engines before the scheduled launch. Once in space, the crew will rendezvous with the space station and join the current crew for a week-long handover period before beginning their mission. This launch and docking marks the first step in replacing the space station's long-duration crew members as part of a multi-step procedure by NASA and Roscosmos.