Four astronauts will spend Halloween on Earth after an unexpected storm rolled in just before the holiday.
NASA and SpaceX announced a delay for the partnership’s next launch of four astronauts into space until this Wednesday for a six-month visit to the International Space Station. The original intent was to launch the crew into orbit on Sunday.
Launch Update ➡️ @NASA‘s @SpaceX #Crew3 mission is now targeted for Wednesday, Nov. 3 at 1:10am ET due to a large storm system elevating winds and waves in the Atlantic Ocean along the Crew Dragon flight path for the Oct. 31 launch attempt. Learn more: https://t.co/WdCdLAKnd4 pic.twitter.com/Z2u0nFRmC6
— NASA Commercial Crew (@Commercial_Crew) October 30, 2021
SOLAR FLARE MAKES NORTHERN LIGHTS VISIBLE TO NORTHERN US DURING HALLOWEEN WEEKEND
A large storm system across the Ohio Valley and through the northeastern part of the United States over this past weekend caused elevating winds and waves in the Atlantic Ocean, making it unsafe for space travel, NASA reported.
The 45th Weather Squadron forecast predicts an 80% chance of favorable weather conditions at the launch site this Wednesday. SpaceX predicted the same percentage for favorable weather for Sunday on Oct. 29.
Falcon 9 and Dragon are looking good for Sunday morning’s launch. Weather forecast is 80% favorable for liftoff, while teams are keeping an eye on weather along the ascent corridor pic.twitter.com/PG4rP1Xeg6
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 29, 2021
The four astronauts who plan to make their way to the space station are Raja Chari, mission commander, Tom Marshburn, pilot, Kayla Barron, mission specialist, and Matthias Maurer, European Space Agency astronaut and another mission specialist.
Going by the name Crew-3, the group will launch on the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket, which will take off from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
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Crew-3 is expected to arrive at the station the same day it leaves Earth. The astronauts will then swap places with four others who flew to the station in April as part of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission. The returning astronauts are expected to return to Earth in early November, with Crew-3 set to return in late April 2022.
