NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, as well as astronaut Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) were set to be launched to the International Space Station on Saturday, November 14. However, weather forecasters have predicted gusty winds from Tropical Storm Eta will be distrustful at the Cape Canaveral, Florida, launch site.
As a result, the launch has been delayed by 24 hours, and will now take place at 7.27pm EST on November 15, or 12.27am GMT on November 16 for those of us in the UK.
NASA chief Jim Bridenstine said on Twitter: “Due to onshore winds and recovery operations, @NASA and @SpaceX are targeting launch of the Crew-1 mission with astronauts to the @Space_Station at 7:27 pm EST Sunday, Nov. 15. The first stage booster is planned to be reused to fly astronauts on Crew-2.
“The launch will still be live streamed by SpaceX.”
“At the conclusion of the review, NASA and SpaceX agreed to target launch for 7:27 PM EST Sunday, Nov. 15, due to onshore winds and first stage booster recovery readiness.”
SpaceX described this as the first “operational” mission for the Crew Dragon, which will ferry the astronauts to the ISS, from American soil.
Elon Musk’s firm explained: “SpaceX and NASA are targeting Sunday, November 15 for Falcon 9’s launch of Dragon’s first operational crew mission (Crew-1) to the International Space Station (ISS) from historic Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
“The instantaneous launch window opens at 7:27 p.m. EST on November 15, 00:27 UTC on November 16.
“Following stage separation, SpaceX will attempt to land Falcon 9’s first stage on the ‘Just Read the Instructions’ droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
“The launch webcast will go live about 4 hours before liftoff.
“As part of the Commercial Crew Program, NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker, and JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi will fly aboard Dragon on its first six-month operational mission to the ISS.
“Following Dragon’s second demonstration mission (Demo-2), NASA certified SpaceX for operational crew missions to and from the space station.
“Crew-1 is the first of three scheduled Dragon flights over the course of 2020 and 2021.
“The return of human spaceflight to the United States with one of the safest, most advanced systems ever built is a turning point for America’s future space exploration, and it lays the groundwork for missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.”
NASA added: “NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, and astronaut Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will head to the International Space Station for a six-month science mission in the Crew Dragon spacecraft, which will launch on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A.
“Crew-1 is the first crew rotation flight of a U.S. commercial spacecraft with astronauts to the space station following the spacecraft system’s official human rating certification.”
