Due to high winds along the flight path, the launch of SpaceX's crew to the International Space Station has been canceled.

Due to high winds along the flight path, the launch of SpaceX’s crew to the International Space Station has been canceled.

March 3, 2024 Benjamin Hughes

On Sunday, SpaceX cancelled a scheduled launch of three astronauts and one Russian cosmonaut to the International Space Station due to strong winds in the intended path of the Crew Dragon spacecraft. The launch had already been delayed prior to the decision.

The SpaceX launch director announced at 8 p.m. EST that the LD was in effect. They also stated that, due to increased ascent winds, the launch attempt for tonight has been postponed.

Earlier this week, a SpaceX rocket named Falcon 9 and a spacecraft called Crew Dragon Endeavor were positioned on pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, ready to launch. The mission they were preparing for was to transport three NASA astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut to the International Space Station.

SpaceX

Crew 8 commander Matthew Dominick, co-pilot Michael Barratt, Jeanette Epps and cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin had just finished donning their white SpaceX pressure suits and were preparing to depart for the launch pad when the countdown was called off.

The launch was delayed by two days due to offshore conditions. Although Saturday was predicted to have somewhat better conditions, the launch time could not proceed as the winds were still outside of acceptable limits.

Assuming a launch that is on schedule for Sunday, the Crew Dragon “Endeavour” is anticipated to reach the space station by early Tuesday, approaching from a lower position. It will then loop around to a spot directly in front of the station before autonomously docking at the forward port of the laboratory at around 3 a.m.

The Crew 8 astronauts during training in a Crew Dragon simulator (left to right): Russian cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, co-pilot Michael Barratt, commander Matthew Dominick and Jeanette Epps. Barratt is making his third trip to space while his crewmates are making their first.

SpaceX/NASA

I am ready to greet Crew 8 onto the station alongside Soyuz crew members Oleg Kononenko, Nikolai Chub, and NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara. They were sent to the station in September.

Additionally, included on the team are Commander Jasmin Moghbeli of Crew 7, European Space Agency astronaut Andreas Mogensen, Japanese flyer Satoshi Furukawa, and cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov.launched from the Kennedy Space Center last August

Completing a 198-day task, they are being substituted by Crew 8.

After Moghbeli and her fellow crew members leave on approximately March 12, the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, intends to send experienced cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy, Belarusian guest astronaut Marina Vasilevskaya, and NASA veteran Tracy Dyson into space on March 21 through the Soyuz MS-25/71S spacecraft.

The objective of the mission is to transport Dyson to the station for a six-month assignment and to bring a new Soyuz for Kononenko and Chub, who are currently halfway through their yearlong mission in space.

On April 2, Novitskiy and Vasilevskaya will return to Earth accompanied by NASA’s O’Hara. They will be traveling via the Soyuz MS-24/70S spacecraft, which was previously used to transport Kononenko, Chub and O’Hara to the station.last September.

In September of next year, Dyson will come back to the Earth and join Kononenko and Chub on board the Soyuz MS-25/71S spacecraft, which was brought by Novitskiy. This will be Kononenko’s fifth mission, and he will have spent a total of over 1,100 days in space, surpassing the current world record for the most time spent in orbit.

William Harwood

Bill Harwood has been reporting on the American space program continually since 1984, starting as the bureau chief for United Press International at Cape Canaveral and currently working as a consultant for CBS News.

Source: cbsnews.com