Kennedy Space Center weather updates for the historic NASA-SpaceX astronaut mission launch

May 27, 2020, is being counted down to as and is highly anticipated as a historic day due to the launch of NASA-Space X mission. The space mission aims to put two astronauts into orbit, something that has been achieved by only three countries in the world including Russia, the US, and China, and the first by a private rocket. However, as of yesterday due to the weather conditions, the chances of the launch are being reported to be only 60%. If SpaceX does not launch during today's split-second window, the next try would be this Saturday. Today's liftoff is set for 4:33 pm EDT which could be seen in India at 2 am IST, May 28. 

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How is the Kennedy Space Centre's weather? Weather predictions for 4:33 pm EDT

• Eastern Florida recently experienced rain over the Memorial Day weekend, and due to the residual moisture present in the atmosphere, the NASA- SpaceX launch which is scheduled for Wednesday, May 27, on 4:33 EDT, could be delayed. 
• The Space mission would launch two NASA astronauts to the ISS, that is International Space Station, via the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. If the mission is successful, it would be a milestone for the private space company Space X as well as it would send a crewed spaceflight from the US after 9 years. 
• Check the weather of the Kennedy space centre, Florida recorded on May 27 at 2 am EDT. It shows the hourly weather updates of the region from where the NASA-SpaceX mission will be launched. It indicates 91% humidity as of 2 am EDT.

Image courtesy: weather.com 

Check the weather predictions for today for Florida by the weather.com website. It states scattered thunderstorms in the morning with chances of aggravating more in the afternoon. It also predicts about 80% humidity conditions. 

Image courtesy: Weather.com

• The weather plays an important part in the space mission and that is why a less humid, calm weather is said to be apt for liftoff. This would ensure a successful launch without any harm to the life of the machinery of the rocket. 
• SpaceX mission also needs calm waves and wind around the US and Canadian seaboard and across the North Atlantic to Ireland, in case astronauts Hurley and Behnken need to make an emergency splashdown.
• There are many "do not launch" rules associated with different cloud, wind and precipitation scenarios.
• Yesterday, the Weather Squadron mentioned 40% chances that the weather conditions of Wednesday will violate at least one of the "do not launch" rules and thus prevent the rocket launch for Wednesday. 

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Things you should know about NASA-Space X launch

• The rocket launch is set for 4:33 p.m. Eastern time, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida
• It will send astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft to the space station.
• The last time astronauts launched from Florida was on NASA's final space shuttle flight in July 2011. Hurley was the pilot of that mission.
• NASA had hired SpaceX and Boeing in 2014 to transport astronauts to the space station. However, the development of SpaceX's Dragon and Boeing's Starliner capsules took longer than expected. In the meantime, the US has been paying Russia to launch NASA astronauts in the interim.
• If this NASA-SpaceX launch becomes successful, it would be a success for the commercial crew program as well as in resuming crewed spaceflight from the US after 9 years. 

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Will there be NASA-SpaceX launch today?

• The weather squadron, which is a unit of the Air Force’s 45th Space Wing, is expected to release one more forecast today before the launch and will also provide the regular updates to SpaceX and NASA, after which there would be a chance to know about the possibility of the space launch today. 
• SpaceX has a backup launch set up for Saturday at 3:22 p.m. EDT and Sunday at 3 p.m EDT in case the weather conditions are not favourable today. Till Saturday, the weather conditions are expected to improve and the interference is expected to drop by 30 per cent.

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Promo Image courtesy: SpaceX on Unsplash