SpaceX targets Friday launch for flight to replace stuck astronauts
(NewsNation) — SpaceX and NASA are aiming for a launch no earlier than Friday for the Crew-10 mission to the International Space Station, which will relieve Starliner astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who have been in space for nine months.
The mission is now targeting a liftoff no earlier than Friday at 7:03 p.m. ET, with a backup opportunity available on Saturday at 6:41 p.m. ET, SpaceX said.
Originally set to blast off from Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday night, the launch was canceled because of a “hydraulic ground issue with a ground support clamp arm for the Falcon 9 rocket,” NASA said.
Former NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao told “Morning in America” it’s rare for SpaceX and the Falcon 9 Dragon rocket to experience delays.
“This is unusual for SpaceX and Falcon 9 Dragon because they usually go on time,” he said. “They don’t often have to scrub a launch for a technical problem, but things do happen.”
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket would have carried two American astronauts, one Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut and one Russian cosmonaut on the Dragon Endurance spacecraft.
NASA astronaut Anne McClain is leading the mission, accompanied by NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers, JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov.
The mission was originally scheduled for a Crew Dragon spacecraft, but due to delays, NASA instead opted for the Dragon Endurance.
Astronauts have been on ISS for 9 months
Once on board, there will be a handover period, which has been shortened due to concerns about commodities on the ISS after an upcoming supply mission experienced an issue.
Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson told NewsNation handovers are “routine.”
“A crew of four is going up. It has to dock. It has to meet up with the space station dock. The crew gets out, they hug each other, and then the other crew gets in,” he said.
Crew-9 will then return along with Wilmore and Williams. Their original departure from the ISS was set for Monday, NASA said, though it’s unclear if the launch delay will affect that timeline.
Wilmore and Williams blasted off on Boeing’s Starliner last summer for a mission initially meant to last two weeks. However, after multiple issues, including helium leaks in the service module and docking issues, NASA deemed it unsafe for them to return.
The two have pushed back against claims that they are “stranded” in space and have said they are thrilled to get to spend more time in orbit.
The Starliner returned to Earth safely in an autonomous flight, but it’s unclear if NASA will move forward with plans to use the spacecraft for future crewed missions.