NASA-SpaceX Crew-3 launch delayed again due to possible bad weather; To take off on Nov 8

Extending the wait for SpaceX's Crew-3 launch, NASA announced that the date for lift-off has been pushed from November 6 to November 8 as the chances are that the weather might turn a villain again. In its official blog published recently, the administration also informed that the scientists are reviewing launch and return opportunities for the two rotation flights and are stuck in dilemma whether to bring back the Crew-2 or send the Crew-3 to the International Space Station (ISS) first. NASA says that this situation has arisen due to anticipated bad weather conditions that would affect both the departure and arrival of the two crews. 

"Mission teams now are considering whether to return the agency’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission from the space station ahead of launching the next crew rotation due to the associated weather considerations for both launch and recovery operations," said NASA in its blog. It further revealed that there is only a 40 per cent chance of favourable launch weather on Saturday, November 6, with the primary concerns revolving around liftoff winds, cumulus clouds, and surface electric field constraints. "The down range weather also is not acceptable on Sunday, Nov. 7 due to risks associated with launch abort sites up the eastern seaboard," it added. 

Three launch delays in a week

The Crew-3 launch, which was originally scheduled to carry four astronauts — NASA's Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, Kayla Barron and ESA's Matthias Maurer on October 31, was pushed to November 3 due to bad weather. And just when the latter date approached, a 'minor medical issue', involving one of the crew members again delayed the launch till November 6. Adding to the disappointment, NASA now says that the Crew Dragon named 'Endurance' will carry Crew-3 astronauts no early than November 8. 

However, it is highly possible now that the Crew-2 astronauts, consisting of NASA's Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, along with European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Pesquet and Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA's) Akihiko Hoshide might depart from the ISS ahead of the arriving crew. If SpaceX and NASA agree on the return trip to Earth first, NASA has planned November 7 as the ideal day. 

(Image: Twitter/ @SpaceX)