SpaceX Launch Delayed Over Medical Issue

NASA has announced another delay for the SpaceX Crew-3 mission to the International Space Station, this time due to a minor medical issue for one of the crew members.

In a statement Monday, NASA said it is not a medical emergency and is not COVID-19 related, adding it “takes every effort to protect the crew prior to its launch through a health stabilization plan.”

Liftoff for the Crew-3 launch was originally scheduled for Sunday, but a large storm system that generated high winds and waves in the Atlantic Ocean was deemed unsafe for the Crew Dragon flight path. It was then rescheduled to Wednesday.

Now, liftoff could happen as early as Saturday at 11:36 p.m.

The Crew-3 astronauts will remain in quarantine at Kennedy Space Center while prepping for their launch. The mission will mark SpaceX’s fourth crewed trip to the ISS and fifth crewed spaceflight since May 2020.

NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, and Kayla Barron will be flying alongside European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Matthias Maurer on board the SpaceX Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center.

Returning to Earth will be Crew-2 NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet early this month.

Crew-3′s six-month stay on the ISS will round out the seven-member crew for the science mission, working in the orbiting laboratory.

Elon Musk’s space company made history in September by completing the first orbital mission featuring an all-civilian crew. The mission also raised more than $210 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The Dragon capsule then set the record for the largest contiguous space window, installed in place of the usual autonomous docking mechanism.

SpaceX and NASA will work together on another launch later this month, as part of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) on November 24.

SpaceX’s live coverage of the launch will begin four hours before liftoff.