SpaceX's Falcon 9 makes it to NASA's launch pad for Crew-5 mission after Hurricane Ian

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is standing tall at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) for Crew-5 mission which is slated for lift-off on October 5. Mounted with Crew Dragon ‘Endurance’ spacecraft, rocket will carry four astronauts to International Space Station (ISS) for a six-month-long mission. According to SpaceX, launch window opens at 9:30 pm IST and a backup opportunity is available on October 6 at 9:08 pm. Following ir launch, astronauts will dock with ISS at 2:27 am next day. 

Taking to Twitter, Elon Musk-led firm shared a few pictures of two-stage Falcon 9 attached to launch tower at KSC’s Launch Complex 39A. Activities at KSC have resumed after Hurricane Ian recently me landfall in Florida and caused serious damage in state. storm was also reason why NASA delayed Crew-5’s launch twice and postponed launch of Artemis 1 Moon mission.

Among members of Crew-5 mission are two NASA astronauts– Josh Cassa and Nicole Mann– with one Russian cosmonaut–Anna Kikina– and one from Japan– Koichi Wakata. 

“During ir time on orbiting laboratory, crew will conduct over 200 science experiments and technology demonstrations in areas such as human health and lunar fuel systems”, company’s statement re. 

SpaceX says that Dragon spacecraft being used for this mission previously supported Crew-3 which launched last November with three American astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, Kayla Barron, and one European, Matthias Maurer. Earlier today, all of Crew-5 astronauts arrived at KSC to get familiar with components of Dragon spacecraft as part of ir final preparations. se four astronauts will form Expedition 68 group which also includes anor NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin. latter three launched to ISS on September 21 from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on a Soyuz rocket. 

launches by Russian space agency, Roscosmos and NASA with each or's astronauts are being carried out under seat-swap agreement between two parties. Owing to this agreement, Kikina will become first Russian to board a commercial US spacecraft, Crew Dragon in this case.