NASA announced on Tuesday that the launch of its Crew-9 mission in collaboration with SpaceX has been rescheduled to September 28. The delay is attributed to the approaching Tropical Storm Helene, which is expected to impact the launch site.
Crew-9 mission details
The upcoming Crew-9 mission, part of NASA’s regular crew rotations to the International Space Station (ISS), will transport one NASA astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut. The mission, which was initially planned for August 18, had already faced previous delays.
Impact of Tropical Storm Helene
While Tropical Storm Helene is forecasted to pass through the Gulf of Mexico and primarily affect northwestern Florida, its size is expected to cause high winds and heavy rainfall in the Cape Canaveral area. This region is home to the Kennedy Space Center, where the Crew-9 launch is set to take place.
Previous delay due to Starliner spacecraft issues
Before this weather-related postponement, the launch had been delayed from its original August date. NASA had extended the timeline to further assess technical issues with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, which is still docked at the ISS.
Key crew members
NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov are slated to board the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft for this mission. Crew-9 marks the ninth such mission under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, aimed at rotating crew members to and from the ISS using SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft.
