WATCH: Maine’s First Female Astronaut To Launch Into Space

Maine's third astronaut, and first female to go into space, will launch this morning, and NASA is streaming it live.

I'm so excited for Jessica Meir, who's originally from Caribou, Maine. I've been fascinated with space travel since I was a kid standing in the observation area of Cape Canaveral, watching a rocket launch. It wasn't carrying astronauts (only a satellite that was being placed), but still, it fueled my passion for space. I'd love to have the adventure that Meir is about to experience.

The launch is scheduled for 9:57 Wednesday morning, September 25th, and will be streamed live by NASA. Meir will be joined by Oleg Skripochka of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, and spaceflight participant Hazzaa Ali Almansoori. It will take the trio about six hours to get to the International Space Station, where they wlil study things like gravity's effect on the human body, radiation's effect on humans, and protein to crystal growth. Meir will return to Earth in 2020, but says she hopes to go on a space walk before then.