Crew-3 Dragon mission to space station delayed
A view of Crew Dragon Endurance atop a Falcon 9 at Launch Complex 39A for the Crew-3 mission, now scheduled for Nov. 3, 2021. Credit: SpaceX
NASA and SpaceX have postponed the launch of the Crew-3 Dragon International Space Station crew rotation mission because of weather in the Falcon 9’s ascent corridor.
The agency and SpaceX are now targeting 1:10 a.m. EDT (5:10 UTC) Nov. 3, 2021, at Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the launch of the Crew-3 mission.
According to NASA, the delay is due to “a large storm system meandering across the Ohio Valley and through northeastern United States this weekend, elevating winds and waves in the Atlantic Ocean along the Crew Dragon flight path for the Oct. 31 launch attempt.”
NASA said conditions are predicted to improve in the launch corridor for the Nov. 3 launch attempt and there is an 80% chance of acceptable conditions expected at the launch site.
Following a Nov. 3 liftoff, docking with the space station is expected later in the day at about 11 p.m. EDT (3:00 UTC Nov. 4) for a short multi-day handover period with the Crew-2 astronauts, who have been aboard the outpost since April.
An overview of the Crew-3 astronauts. Credit: Derek Richardson / Spaceflight Insider / Orbital Velocity
Derek Richardson
Derek Richardson has a degree in mass media, with an emphasis in contemporary journalism, from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. While at Washburn, he was the managing editor of the student run newspaper, the Washburn Review. He also has a website about human spaceflight called Orbital Velocity. You can find him on twitter @TheSpaceWriter.
