NASA's Crew-9 mission is set to lift off at 1:17 p.m. Saturday from Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 40 — that's if weather cooperates. With the launch already pushed back from Thursday due to Hurricane Helene , the 45th Weather Squadron is forecasting only a 55% chance of favorable weather for the SpaceX Falcon 9 liftoff.
The main weather concerns are in the ascent corridor, or put another way, the atmospheric conditions the rocket will travel through. Precipitation and cumulus clouds will pose a moderate weather risk during the launch window.
When is the next Florida launch? Is there a launch today? Upcoming SpaceX, NASA, Blue Origin rocket launch schedule from Florida
As the Dragon spacecraft needs to meet up with the space station , the launch window is instantaneous. It must lift off on time or be postponed for the day. However, the FAA lists backup launch opportunities at 12:49 p.m. Sunday and again at 12:27 p.m. Monday.
NASA SpaceX Crew-9 launch
Crew-9 is the next rotation of NASA astronauts to travel to the International Space Station onboard SpaceX's Dragon. Inside the Dragon will be one NASA astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut.
NASA astronaut Nick Hague will be meeting up with astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams who are already onboard the space station. Williams and Wilmore arrived in a Boeing Starliner spacecraft on June 5 during that spacecraft's test flight aimed at certifying it to ferry NASA astronauts.
After Starliner's thrusters shut off during docking to the station on June 6, NASA and Boeing began intense testing to try to solve the issue. With NASA unable to prove the reliability of the Starliner spacecraft, the agency decided to have it return without the two astronauts on September 7 . The decision was made to keep Wilmore and Williams on the station and have them join Crew-9, with plans to return home in February on the Dragon.
Also onboard this flight is Russian cosmonaut, Aleksandr Gorbunov. A truly international endeavor, the space station hosts astronauts from multiple countries − with the United States and Russia being the main players. Since the mid-1990s, NASA and Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, have partnered with transportation to the station. Astronauts still occasionally ride to the ISS onboard a Russian Soyuz, and cosmonauts will ride with SpaceX.
This mission marks the 10th overall flight of NASA astronauts by SpaceX − including Demo-2 and Crews 1-9. SpaceX flies NASA astronaut crews as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program which arose out of space shuttle's retirement.
Boeing's Starliner was also contracted by NASA to fly astronauts to the station as part of the commercial crew program in 2014. The initial contracts were for $4.82 billion for Boeing and $3.14 billion for SpaceX but Boeing has yet to fulfill its contract.
First crewed launch from Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 40
Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) typically sees satellite launches, such as SpaceX's Starlink. Earlier this year, a crew access arm was added to the launch tower in preparation for future crewed launches from the site. With Pad 39A being transitioned to accommodate the upcoming Falcon Heavy Europa Clipper launch — set to launch no earlier than October 10 — the time has arrived to utilize SLC-40 to launch a crew.
After liftoff, the Falcon 9 first stage booster will land at a Cape Canaveral SpaceX landing zone. A sonic boom will be heard throughout the Brevard area.
Launch traffic shows no signs of slowing down either.
While on the International Space Station, Crew-9 will see a few visiting spacecraft. This includes the SpaceX CRS-31 resupply mission and another SpaceX Dragon capsule bringing the next Axiom Space crewed mission. Both of these missions are tentatively set to launch by the end of the year.
Brooke Edwards is a Space Reporter for Florida Today. Contact her at bedwards@floridatoday.com or on X: @brookeofstars .
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Watching launch weather: NASA SpaceX Crew-9 launch set for Saturday from Cape Canaveral
Local News
Comments / 0