NASA reschedules SpaceX launch for this week after postponing Halloween blast-off to the International Space Station because of an Atlantic storm
- NASA had hoped to launch the four astronauts early on October 31 from Florida
- SpaceX launches require good weather all the way up the Eastern Seaboard
- This is in case of a problem that requires an ’emergency capsule splashdown’
- Forecasters say there is an 80 per cent chance of favourable conditions on Wednesday, November 3, and so NASA and SpaceX hope to launch this week
NASA has been forced to reschedule a SpaceX launch to the International Space Station after ‘unfavourable weather conditions’ mean it was unsafe to go ahead.
The four astronauts were scheduled to launch on October 31 in a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, atop a Falcon 9 rocket, but this will now not go ahead until November 3, scheduled to leave the Kennedy Space Center at 01:10 ET (05:10 GMT).
The crew waiting to launch includes NASA astronauts commander Raja Chari, with Tom Marshburn and Kayla Barron, along with ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer.
In a blog post NASA says the delay was the result of ‘a large storm system meandering across the Ohio Valley and through northeastern United States’ pushing winds and waves along the Atlantic Ocean within the flight path of the rocket.
Forecasters say there is an 80 per cent chance of conditions improving by Wednesday, making a launch attempt safer and conditions more favourable.
Americans Tom Marshburn (second from left), Raja Chari (second from right) and Kayla Barron (right) as well as German Matthias Maurer (left) of the European Space Agency, will spend six months on the orbital outpost
The four astronauts were scheduled to launch on October 31 in a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, atop a Falcon 9 rocket, but this will now not go ahead until November 3, scheduled to leave the Kennedy Space Center at 01:10 ET (05:10 GMT)
MEET SPACEX CREW-3
Spacecraft commander
Raja Jon Vurputoor “Grinder” Chari (born June 24, 1977) is an American test pilot and NASA astronaut making his first trip to space.
Pilot
Thomas Henry “Tom” Marshburn (born August 29, 1960) is a doctor and veteran NASA astronaut taking his third trip to the ISS.
Mission Specialist 1
Matthias Josef Maurer (born 18 March 1970) is a German-born European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut and materials scientist on his first trip.
Mission Specialist 2
Kayla Jane Barron (born September 19, 1987) is an American submarine warfare officer, engineer and NASA astronaut on her first ISS visit.
For crew launches, SpaceX requires good weather all the way up the Eastern Seaboard and across the North Atlantic to Ireland, in case something goes wrong and the capsule has to make an emergency splashdown.
This will be SpaceX’s fourth astronaut flight for NASA in one and a half years and the company’s fifth passenger flight overall.
The Crew-3 astronauts, as they are known by SpaceX, are scheduled for a long-duration science mission aboard the orbiting laboratory, living and working as part of what is expected to be a seven-member crew for the next six months.
Scientific highlights of the mission include an experiment to grow plants in space without soil or other growth media.
Another will see them build optical fibres in microgravity, which prior research has suggested will be superior in quality to those made on Earth.
If this proves to be correct, it could one day result in a new orbital industry of fibre optic cables being produced in orbit and returned to the planet.
The Crew-3 astronauts will also conduct spacewalks to complete the upgrade of the station’s solar panels and will be present for two tourism missions.
This includes Japanese visitors aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft at the end of the year and the Space-X Axiom crew, set for launch in February 2022.
They will travel in the SpaceX Crew Dragon ‘Endurance,’ capsule, given its name earlier this month by the crew – changing it from the serial number Capsule 210.
The name is ‘a tribute to the tenacity of the human spirit, as we push humans and machines farther than we ever have,’ said Chari, who will make his first spaceflight when he launches, and become only the second rookie to command a spaceship.
Giving the spacecraft the name Endurance is ‘a nod to the fact that the development teams, the production teams, the training teams that got us here have endured through a pandemic,’ according to Chari.
‘And then of course, just the fact that we are going to reuse this vehicle,’ he said, speaking in a NASA video announcement.
From left, European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer of Germany, and NASA astronauts Tom Marshburn, Raja Chari, and Kayla Barron gather for a photo after arriving at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral
‘So, one of the really cool things about the SpaceX Dragon is, we’ll be the first ones to use Endurance, but it won’t be the last time it’s used.’
This is the third Crew Dragon in the SpaceX fleet to travel to space.
Assuming the weather holds, the Crew-3 launch will take off from Florida at 01:10 ET (05:10 GMT) and arrive at the station about 23:00 ET (03:00 GMT).
When they arrive at the station there will be a short handover, before the previous group of astronauts, taken to the station by SpaceX, return to the Earth.
The Crew-3 astronauts will also conduct spacewalks to complete the upgrade of the station’s solar panels and will be present for two tourism missions
Raja Chari (top left) will launch with fellow NASA astronauts Thomas Marshburn (top right) and Kayla Barron (bottom right), with the European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer (bottom left) taking the fourth seat
Crew-2 NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet are currently targeting return in early November.
During the handover period there will briefly be 11 people on the space station at the same time.
Crew-3 astronauts are set to return in late April 2022, shortly after the SpaceX-operated Crew-4 launch to the station.
Crew-4 will be commanded by Kjell Lindgren with Bob Hines as pilot, both NASA astronauts. ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti will be a mission specialist and command the station’s Expedition 68 crew.
SPACEX CREW DRAGON CAPSULE MEASURES 20FT AND CAN CARRY 7 ASTRONAUTS AT A TIME
The March 2 test, the first launch of U.S. astronauts from U.S. soil in eight years, will inform the system design and operations (Artist’s impression)
The capsule measures about 20 feet tall by 12 feet in diameter, and will carry up to 7 astronauts at a time.
The Crew Dragon features an advanced emergency escape system (which was tested earlier this year) to swiftly carry astronauts to safety if something were to go wrong, experiencing about the same G-forces as a ride at Disneyland.
It also has an Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) that provides a comfortable and safe environment for crew members.
Crew Dragon’s displays will provide real-time information on the state of the spacecraft’s capabilities, showing everything from Dragon’s position in space, to possible destinations, to the environment on board.
Those CRS-2 Dragon missions will use ‘propulsive’ landings, where the capsule lands on a landing pad using its SuperDraco thrusters rather than splashing down in the ocean.
That will allow NASA faster access to the cargo returned by those spacecraft, and also build up experience for propulsive landings of crewed Dragon spacecraft.
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