The mission intervenes despite the shutdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic. (File)
A final decision on an attempt to launch the milestone SpaceX mission to the International Space Station on Saturday afternoon will take place after assessing the weather that morning, NASA chief Jim Bridenstine said on Friday.
Fear of a thunderbolt delayed the initial takeoff attempt on Wednesday of what would have been the first crewed rocket launch from US soil in nearly a decade, and the first time a commercial venture has succeeded. the feat.
“No weather decision for Saturday’s test flight of @ SpaceX’s #CrewDragon spacecraft. Will reassess this morning,” Bridenstine tweeted.
Earlier today, NASA said the chances of a launch at 3:22 p.m. EST (1922 GMT) on Saturday were 50%. The weather is currently forecasting a thunderstorm.
The next window, which is determined by the relative positions of the launch site relative to the space station, is Sunday at 3:00 p.m. EST (1900 GMT), and good weather is forecast.
NASA astronauts Robert Behnken, 49, and Douglas Hurley, 53, former military test pilots who joined the space agency in 2000, are scheduled to take off from the historic launch pad 39A on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at two floors.
The same launch pad was used by Neil Armstrong and his Apollo 11 teammates on their historic journey to the Moon, as NASA seeks to rekindle the excitement of exploring human space before returning expected to Earth’s natural satellite, then to Mars.
The mission intervenes despite the stops caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the crew having been in quarantine for more than two weeks.
NASA urged crowds to stay away from Cocoa Beach, the traditional viewing spot – but that did not deter many space fans on Wednesday.
President Donald Trump, who flew for the previous launch attempt, is expected to attend again.
Triumph for SpaceX
NASA has had to pay Russia for the use of its Soyuz rockets to take its astronauts into space since the end of the space shuttle program in 2011, and the decision has been made to shift attention to trading partners for missions in low Earth orbit.
The mission is a defining moment for SpaceX, the company founded by Elon Musk in 2002 with the aim of breaking the rules to produce a lower-cost alternative to human space flight.
In 2012, it had become the first private company to dock a cargo capsule at the ISS, having regularly replenished the station since.
Two years later, NASA orders the next step: transport its astronauts there by adapting the Dragon capsule.
The American space agency has spent more than $ 3 billion for SpaceX to design, build, test and operate its reusable capsule for six future space round trips.
The project has experienced delays, explosions and paratrooper problems – but even so, SpaceX has beaten its competitor, the aerospace giant Boeing, with its fist.
Crew Dragon is expected to dock with the ISS approximately 19 hours after takeoff, for a duration which is not yet finalized, but probably around the beginning of August.
The flight scheduled for Wednesday was cleaned up 17 minutes before takeoff due to the high levels of atmospheric electricity that could have triggered a lightning strike on the rocket.
