SpaceX’s Historic Launch With NASA Astronauts Is Postponed Due To Bad Weather
Image via SpaceX
SpaceX was set to send two NASA astronauts, Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley, to the International Space Station (ISS) via its Crew Dragon spacecraft yesterday. However, the launch has been postponed due to rough weather conditions before the liftoff.
The Demo-2 mission was slated for takeoff from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 4.33pm ET on Wednesday, but at 4.17pm, officials declared that the weather condition was not favorable for launch, per CNN.
Due to the rain and thunderstorms in the vicinity, the program was shelved to take place during one of two preplanned launch windows on Saturday and Sunday. Therefore, the next attempt will go on at 3.22pm ET on Saturday. The backup launch window on Sunday has been set at 3pm ET.
This is the first crewed spaceflight from US soil since NASA’s Space Shuttle Program in 2011. SpaceX will also be the first private company to send American astronauts to the ISS with its spacecraft.
Catch the second attempt at the historic launch on NASA’s YouTube channel and SpaceX’s website.
#LaunchAmerica Update:
— NASA (@NASA) May 27, 2020
Weather is the the one thing that we actually cannot control on our missions so unfortunately, it did cause us to scrub today. The vehicles are healthy. @AstroBehnken and @Astro_Doug were ready to go and will be ready on our next launch attempt Saturday. pic.twitter.com/4aIGKo39dZ
Today’s launch was scrubbed due to weather. There were no issues with the @SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft. The next launch attempt is Saturday, May 30 at 3:22 p.m. ET. #LaunchAmerica More photos from today: https://t.co/8due5jBg5Y pic.twitter.com/wvvd3WcnWz
— NASA HQ PHOTO (@nasahqphoto) May 27, 2020
.@AstroBehnken and @Astro_Doug before Crew Dragon flight pic.twitter.com/BVDlvTZxS9
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 27, 2020
Standing down from launch today due to unfavorable weather in the flight path. Our next launch opportunity is Saturday, May 30 at 3:22 p.m. EDT, or 19:22 UTC
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 27, 2020
[via CNN, cover image via SpaceX]
