SpaceX has decided to postpone their commercial space station launch in order to thoroughly review all pre-launch data.

January 17, 2024 Benjamin Hughes

Third commercial crew mission

The scheduled trip to the International Space Station has been postponed to Wednesday in order to complete necessary pre-flight data evaluations. The flight, arranged by Axiom Space from Houston, will now take place on Thursday following the completion of final analysis.

The flight’s four-person crew, consisting of retired astronaut Michael López-Alegría, Italian Walter Villadei, Swedish flier Marcus Wandt, and Turkey’s Alper Gezeravci, were preparing for launch on a two-week research mission aboard the orbital outpost when the delay was announced.

The scheduled time for liftoff from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center has been changed to 4:49 p.m. EST on Thursday, which lines up with the rotation of Earth and allows for a rendezvous with the space station.

SpaceX rocket on launch pad — The SpaceX Falcon 9, accompanied by the Crew Dragon capsule, is currently stationed on the launch pad.

CBS News

At a teleconference on Tuesday evening, Benji Reed, senior director of human spaceflight programs at SpaceX, brought up two problems that engineers are currently investigating: potential issues with the energy modulator straps on the Crew Dragon’s parachutes and the torque on the connectors securing the Crew Dragon to the Falcon 9’s upper stage.

William Harwood

Since 1984, Bill Harwood has been providing full-time coverage of the U.S. space program. He started as the bureau chief for United Press International at Cape Canaveral and is currently a consultant for CBS News.

Source: cbsnews.com