NASA and SpaceX have delayed the launch of the Crew 5 mission due to Hurricane Ian. The space agencies are now targeting no earlier than 9:53 pm IST (12:23 pm ET) on Tuesday, October 4, to launch the Crew-5 astronauts en route to the International Space Station (ISS).
As per the original plan, the launch was scheduled to take place on Monday, October 3, but Hurricane Ian disrupted preparations for the mission at the Kennedy Space Center launch site in Florida. NASA also has a backup opportunity on Wednesday, October 5 if it fails to proceed with the launch on October 4.
The launch plan is contingent on Hurricane Ian having a minor impact on Kennedy Space Center, which is on Florida's Atlantic coast. Hurricane Ian is currently moving north through the Caribbean, and its winds have already begun lashing the Florida coast. As per the prediction of current weather models, the storm will hit Florida's Gulf Coast particularly hard over the next few days and the Kennedy Space Center could be in the line of fire as well.
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As per NASA’s blog, mission teams will continue to monitor the impacts of Hurricane Ian on the Space Coast and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The space agency mentioned that it could adjust the launch date again, as necessary.
The Dragon Endurance spacecraft is currently mated to the Falcon 9 rocket of SpaceX and safely secured inside SpaceX’s hangar at the Launch Complex. After the storm progresses, teams from NASA and SpaceX will evaluate the potential impacts to the space centre and determine whether to adjust the mission timeline further.
Earlier SpaceX and NASA held a flight readiness review (FRR) for Crew-5 on September 26, in which no major technical issues were identified.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule will fly the astronauts of the Crew-5 mission to the International Space Station. They will spend about five months aboard the orbiting lab before coming back to Earth. The Crew-5 will mark the first time a cosmonaut has flown to the ISS on a private American spacecraft.
(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)
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