Weather delays NASA SpaceX Crew-12 astronaut launch
Forecast concerns along the rocket’s flight path pushed the mission’s liftoff from Florida, highlighting how critical weather remains for human spaceflight.
SpaceX Crew-11 returned to Earth in the early hours of Jan. 15, splashing down in the waters off the coast of California. The four astronauts left the International Space Station ahead of schedule due to a medical issue involving one crew member.
NASA and SpaceX have pushed the launch date of the Crew-12 astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS) because of forecast weather concerns along the spacecraft's ascent trajectory.
Officials moved the Falcon 9 liftoff to no earlier than 5:38 a.m. EST on Thursday, Feb. 12, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Mission teams made the call on Monday after reviewing updated forecasts that indicated less-than-ideal weather on the previously targeted Feb. 11 launch date. Meteorologists will watch conditions closely, with hopes that the weather will improve further by Friday, Feb. 13, offering additional launch opportunities if needed.
The four members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission to the International Space Station pose together for a crew portrait in their pressure suits at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California. From left are, Roscosmos cosmonaut and Mission Specialist Andrey Fedyaev, NASA astronauts Jack Hathaway and Jessica Meir, Pilot and Commander respectively, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut and Mission Specialist Sophie Adenot. (Image: SpaceX)
The move comes after years of weather-related impacts on spaceflight schedules, where lightning, wind and other atmospheric conditions have previously delayed launches to ensure crew safety and vehicle performance. In this case, NASA and SpaceX officials opted to exercise caution.
Four astronauts — NASA’s Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev — remain in quarantine at Kennedy Space Center, awaiting their new launch date on the SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft into orbit.
Once in orbit, the Dragon spacecraft will dock at the ISS for a long-duration science mission, where the astronauts will conduct research in microgravity and support station operations.
Currently, NASA Astronaut Christopher Williams is the only American astronaut on the ISS, along with two Russian cosmonauts, after the Crew-11 mission ended early in the station's first ever medical evacuation.
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