SpaceX, NASA plan second commercial taxi to ISS on November 15

SpaceX has scheduled lift-off of its first operational crewed flight to the International Space Station (ISS) in a second launch on November 15. The commercial operational flight Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon astronaut taxi will blast off from Cape Canaveral, Florida at 7:27 pm after 27 hours of docking due to orbital mechanics. Four astronauts will be launched on the SpaceX Dragon capsule in the company’s first manned mission to the orbiting lab. NASA’s Crew-1 mission will also be the first regular commercial mission to be licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said at a press conference. 

The four astronauts, Air Force colonel and test pilot Michael Hopkins, Navy pilot from California, Victor Glover, a physicist from Houston, Shannon Walker, and Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi will take off on large spacecraft under the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s commercial crew program that was initiated in 2010. After the successful Demo-2 flight in May, the launch was scheduled for October 31. It was, however, postponed to November 14 due to the “unexpected" glitch with the rocket. Meanwhile, the Crew-1 mission was further postponed this morning for Sunday, 7:27 p.m. EST to lift off from Kennedy Space Center due to onshore winds and unfavourable weather. 

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[The four astronauts of NASA and SpaceX's Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station pose for a portrait during a launch rehearsal at Pad 39A of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Credit: NASA]

[SpaceX and NASA now one day away from launching four astronauts to the International Space Station on the Crew-1 mission. Credit: SpaceX]

[SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule spacecraft off the coast of Pensacola, Florida. Credit: NASA]

'Something a lot bigger' crew commander says

The mission, now rescheduled, was ready to launch at 7:49 pm EST,  Saturday, Nov. 14 from Complex 39 A of Kennedy Space Center. "Due to onshore winds and recovery operations, @NASA and @SpaceX are targeting launch of the Crew-1 mission with astronauts to the @Space_Station at 7:27 p.m. EST Sunday, Nov. 15 (0027 GMT Monday)," NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine tweeted. The weather forecasts for the launch was provided by the US Air Force’s 45th Weather Squadron situated along the East Coast of the United States, which includes Cape Canaveral, Florida, a location where a majority of US-based launches take place.

“High winds can prevent crews from hoisting a spacecraft onto the top of a rocket. Thunderstorms can stop all activities on the launch pad,” Steven Siceloff, NASA weather curator said in a release. Meanwhile, commander of the Crew- 1 mission Michael Hopkins said that the Crew-1 wasn’t just another launch. “This is something a lot bigger,” he said. “Hopefully it’s setting the stage, one of those first steps to getting us to the Moon and on to Mars.”

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(Image Credit: NASA)