SpaceX's Crew Dragon Endurance (SpaceX) and its Falcon 9 rocket are pictured atop Pad 39A NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral Florida ahead of the Crew-3 mission's planned liftoff.
CAPE CANAVERAL (Fla.) SpaceX's next NASA astronaut launch has been delayed yet again
SpaceX and the U.S. space agency have moved the launch of Crew-3, which will send four astronauts into the International Space Station, from Saturday (Nov. 6th) to Monday (Nov. 8th). This is due to expected bad weather in the coming days.
NASA and SpaceX are now considering whether to send Crew-3 to the sky with the four astronauts from Crew-2.
Live updates: SpaceX's Crew-3 mission to the astronauts
Crew-3 was originally to be launched from Pad 39A, NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew would have been able to climb aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule and Falcon 9 rocket. NASA announced that the crew would have to wait 72 hours before they could board the rocket. This was due to poor weather conditions on the rocket's flight path.
A minor medical issue arose with one of the astronauts. The agency had to move the launch to Saturday at 11:36 p.m. ET (Nov. 6; 0336 GMT Nov. 7). Mother Nature decided to cancel the plan. According to forecasters at Cape Canaveral's 45th Space Delta, the weather conditions for the weekend are very poor.
NASA and SpaceX have rethought their plans for launch and splashdown.
"Mission teams are currently considering whether to return SpaceX Crew-2 to the space station before launching the next crew rotation, due to the associated weather conditions," agency representatives wrote in a post on Thursday (Nov.4).
Crew-2 astronauts, Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough, are currently stationed at NASA. Thomas Pesquet, an astronaut for the European Space Agency (ESA), and Akihiko Hashide, a Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, were originally scheduled to return home on Thursday. This was assuming that the Crew-3 crew of NASA's Raja Chari and Kayla Barron, Matthias Maurer, and Tom Marshburn launched on Oct. 31.
Crew-2 was delayed by Crew-3's original delay until Wednesday (Nov. 3), putting Crew-2's earliest departure at Nov. 7. Weather is the main factor that determines when each mission gets off the ground.
Crew-2, launched in April and now in serious time crunch. The Dragon spacecraft's rated life in space is approximately 210 days or 7 months. NASA might decide to send that mission home first, as the deadline is fast approaching and the weather looks bleak.
In a blog post, Steve Stich (NASA's Commercial Crew program manager) stated that "These are dynamic decisions and complex decisions that can change day by day." "The November weather can be particularly challenging so we aim to continue with the plan with the greatest probability of mission safety and assurance."
Crew-2's return to Earth is expected to be Sunday, Nov. 7, while Crew-3's launch could take place Monday night, Nov. 8. NASA states that it will continue to monitor the weather conditions at the Cape as well as downrange in order to determine the best course for action over the coming days.
NASA officials stated that the medical issue of Crew-3's astronaut is expected to resolve by launch day.
