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Nasa is set to send two astronauts to the International Space Station this afternoon, in a historic mission that marks the first crewed launch from US soil in almost a decade.
In a spaceship built by Elon Musk's California-based company SpaceX, astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley will launch from Florida's Kennedy Space Centre at 9.33pm UK time.
The "Crew Dragon" capsule carrying the two men will be launched into orbit by SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, arriving at the space station after 19 hours.
The mission is also the first crewed launch for SpaceX, and for Nasa's Commercial Crew Programme, which partners with private companies to send astronauts to the ISS.
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