The SpaceX Crew-9 mission launch was postponed from September 26 to September 28 in the wake of “any potential storm activity” due to Tropical Storm Helene. Will Hurricane Helene further delay the Crew-9 mission?
NASA Commercial Crew posted on X on Saturday, “Weather officers with @SLDelta45 predict a 55% of favorable weather conditions for launch, scheduled for 1:17pm ET Sept. 28.”
The NASA said, “The cumulus cloud rule, flight through precipitation, and surface electric fields rule are primary weather concerns.”
‘Big change’ in Crew 9 mission
NASA said in a press conference on Friday, “We had a pretty big change in the mission.” He was refering to the downsizing of the SpaceX mission crewmates.
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is launching two astronauts, instead of four as initially planned. That’s because NASA decided to downsize two other crewmembers – its original commander Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson – from the flight to make room for two astronauts who have been “stuck” on the ISS since their Boeing Starliner capsule return to Earth without them on September 7.
Astronauts Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson relinquished their seats so their colleagues could return to Earth. “We’re going to find spots for them to fly,” Ken Bowersox, NASA’s associate administrator for space operations, said of Cardman and Wilson. “We really appreciate how hard it is to give up a mission and wait a little bit longer,” he added.