SpaceX postpones Crew Dragon launch due to bad weather

SpaceX postpones Crew Dragon launch due to bad weather
© Belga

The U.S. space agency NASA has postponed the launch of the SpaceX Crew Dragon flight, carrying four astronauts, to Sunday, due to high winds, NASA head Jim Bridenstine announced on Friday.

Bridenstine said the launch, which would send three U.S. and one Japanese astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS), is now scheduled for 7:27 PM EST on Sunday (00:27 GMT on Monday) at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, instead of 7:49 PM EST on Saturday.

The crew is made up of NASA’s Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker, and Soichi Noguchi of Japan. They are scheduled to arrive at the ISS at about 04:00 GMT on Tuesday.

The mission, the first six-month operational one to be launched by SpaceX, confirms the resumption of crewed flights from the United States, piloted in May last after a nine-year interruption and dependence on Russia.

On Tuesday, NASA officially certified the Crew Dragon capsule developed by SpaceX as safe to transport its astronauts on regular flights.

SpaceX, a company founded by businessman Elon Musk, had conducted a successful demonstration earlier this year, sending two astronauts to the ISS in May and bringing them back without a hitch in August.

The Brussels Times


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