UPDATE: Richland native Kayla Barron and three other astronauts successfully launched into orbit at 6:04 p.m. PST.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Among the four astronauts set to take flight into the cosmos during the SpaceX launch on Wednesday night is Kayla Barron—a native of Richland who has been gearing up for this trip for years despite never seeing a space launch herself.
Barron is scheduled to be part of the 6:03 p.m. PST launch of a Falcon-9 rocket, which will hurl her into space at incredible speeds. A local legend for her incredible accomplishments already, Barron spent her teenage years in the Tri-Cities and graduated from Richland High School in 2006.
NASA selected Barron to join the 2017 astronaut candidate class after she graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with a bachelor’s degree in systems engineering. The accomplished engineer served in the U.S. Navy on a ballistic missile submarine located in Bangor, WA.
The crew is gearing up for a launch that has already been delayed several times. Barring weather concerns of technical difficulties, they will launch into orbit on Wednesday evening.
You can watch Kayla Barron and the Falcon-9 rocket launch live on KAPP KVEW Local News at 6. We are also live-streaming the rocket launch on our Facebook page (Click here).
John Raoux
NASA astronaut Kayla Barron, center, answers questions during a news conference with astronauts Tom Marshburn, left, and Raja Chari after they arrived at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021. The mission with a crew of four astronauts will launch aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A early Sunday morning to the International Space Station.
Astronauts, from left, Matthias Maurer, of Germany, Tom Marshburn, Raja Chari, and Kayla Barron pose for a photo after leaving the Operations and Checkout Building for a trip to Launch Pad 39-A Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The four astronauts are scheduled to fly on SpaceX's Crew-3 mission to the International Space Station.
Astronauts, from left, Tom Marshburn, Matthias Maurer, of Germany, Raja Chari and Kayla Barron wave as they leave the Operations and Checkout building for a trip to Launch Pad 39-A Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The four astronauts are scheduled to fly on SpaceX's Crew-3 mission to the International Space Station.
FILE - From left, European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer of Germany, and NASA astronauts Tom Marshburn, Raja Chari, and Kayla Barron gather for a photo after arriving at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021. SpaceX counted down Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021 toward a nighttime launch the four astronauts who have been grounded for nearly two weeks by weather and medical delays.
FILE - The official portraits of astronauts, from left, Raja Chari, Kayla Barron, Matthias Maurer, of Germany, and Tom Marshburn, are displayed as a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the crew dragon capsule attached sits on Launch Pad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Friday, Oct. 29, 2021. On Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021, officials announced SpaceX's next astronaut flight is off until at least next week as more bad weather looms, and as flight surgeons continue to monitor the “minor medical issue” affecting one of the four astronauts.
FILE - From left, European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer of Germany, and NASA astronauts Tom Marshburn, Raja Chari, and Kayla Barron gather for a photo after arriving at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021. A medical issue has sidelined one of four astronauts assigned to SpaceX’s upcoming flight to the International Space Station and delayed the launch, officials said Monday, Nov. 1, 2021.
European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer, of Germany, second from left, gestures as he speaks about fellow crew members, from left, NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn, Raja Chari, and Kayla Barron after arriving at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021. The mission, with a crew of four astronauts, will launch aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy's Launch Complex 39A early Sunday morning to the International Space Station.
In this Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021 photo provided by NASA, from left, European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer of Germany, and NASA astronauts Tom Marshburn, Raja Chari, and Kayla Barron gather for a photo after arriving at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. SpaceX has bumped its next astronaut flight for NASA until Wednesday, Nov. 3, because of rough wind and waves offshore. Four astronauts were supposed to blast off from Florida early Sunday morning on a six-month mission to the International Space Station. (Joel Kowsky/NASA via AP)
Crew 3 astronauts, from left, European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer, of Germany, NASA astronauts Tom Marshburn, Raja Chari, and Kayla Barron speak to the media after arriving at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021. The mission with a crew of four astronauts will launch aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy's Launch Complex 39A early Sunday morning to the International Space Station.
Astronauts Tom Marshburn, right, and Kayla Barron talk to family members before heading to Launch Pad 39-A Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The four astronauts are scheduled to fly on SpaceX's Crew-3 mission to the International Space Station.
European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer, of Germany, second from right, waves as he walks with fellow crew members, from left, NASA astronauts Tom Marshburn, Raja Chari, and Kayla Barron after arriving at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021. The mission, with a crew of four astronauts, will launch aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy's Launch Complex 39A early Sunday morning to the International Space Station.
