The {hardware} that can fly SpaceX’s subsequent astronaut mission for NASA is poised and prepared for liftoff.
The Crew-5 mission is scheduled to launch at midday EDT (1600 GMT) on Wednesday (Oct. 5) from Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida, and crew members have been checking off packing containers within the leadup.
On Saturday (Oct. 1), for instance, the 4 Crew-5 astronauts — NASA’s Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, Japan’s Koichi Wakata and Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina — arrived at KSC from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Related: SpaceX Crew-5 astronauts prepared for historic mission
That similar day, the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule that can fly Crew-5 had been rolled out to Pad 39A from SpaceX‘s processing facility at KSC. The Falcon 9 is jarringly white and clear by SpaceX requirements; Elon Musk’s firm is known for touchdown and reflying boosters, which get soot-blackened throughout their journeys again to Earth. But Crew-5 would be the first mission for this specific Falcon 9 first stage.
On Sunday (Oct. 2), SpaceX carried out a “static fire” check of the Falcon 9, lighting up the primary stage’s 9 Merlin engines briefly in an ordinary preflight trial. SpaceX, NASA and the Crew-5 astronauts additionally “completed a full rehearsal of launch day activities” on Sunday, SpaceX said via Twitter (opens in new tab).
Crew-5 will ship Mann, Cassada, Wakata and Kikina to the International Space Station for a five-month keep. The mission will make historical past in a number of methods. For occasion, Kikina will develop into the primary cosmonaut ever to fly on a SpaceX mission to orbit. And Mann will develop into the primary Native American girl to attain the ultimate frontier.
NASA and SpaceX had been concentrating on at present (Oct. 3) for Crew-5’s liftoff, however Hurricane Ian pushed issues again by two days.
The storm’s affect on the timeline for NASA’s Artemis 1 moon mission was rather more dramatic. NASA had been concentrating on Sept. 27 for the launch of Artemis 1, which is able to raise off from KSC’s Pad 39B. But the Artemis 1 crew rolled Artemis 1 off the pad final week to shield it from Ian and is now eyeing a launch in mid-November.
Mike Wall is the creator of “Out There (opens in new tab)” (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a guide in regards to the seek for alien life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall (opens in new tab). Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) or on Facebook (opens in new tab).
