NASA astronauts given the green light for American space launch

(NBC News) For the first time in almost a decade American astronauts are preparing to launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

If all goes as planned it will be the first crewed flight in a U.S. spacecraft from U.S. soil since the end of the shuttle era.

The Crew Dragon flight capsule atop the SpaceX Falcon-9 rocket is set to blast off Wednesday afternoon.

“Everything is looking good. As of right now we are go for launch,” NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine confirmed Tuesday after a static fire test and final walk-through for the astronauts.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on the mission. Half of the SpaceX engineers are working from home.

The astronauts, Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, have been repeatedly tested for the virus and have been in isolation since March.

“We’ve been in quarantine probably longer than any other space crew has ever been, in the history of the space program,” Hurley says.