SpaceX has delayed its next astronaut flight for Nasa until Wednesday because of rough winds and waves hundreds of miles away.
Four astronauts were supposed to blast off early Sunday morning on a six-month mission to the International Space Station.
But while the forecast at Nasa’s Kennedy Space Centre was near perfect, a large storm in the north-east of the US had the sea churning further up the coast. It prompted managers to move the launch.
Launch Update ➡️ @NASA's @SpaceX #Crew3 mission is now targeted for Wednesday, Nov. 3 at 1:10am ET due to a large storm system elevating winds and waves in the Atlantic Ocean along the Crew Dragon flight path for the Oct. 31 launch attempt. Learn more: https://t.co/WdCdLAKnd4 pic.twitter.com/Z2u0nFRmC6
— NASA Commercial Crew (@Commercial_Crew) October 30, 2021
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For crew launches, SpaceX requires good weather all the way up the Eastern Seaboard and across the North Atlantic to Ireland, in case something goes wrong and the capsule has to make an emergency splashdown.
Calmer conditions are expected on Wednesday. The one German and three US astronauts will remain at Kennedy until then.
This will be SpaceX’s fourth astronaut flight for Nasa in one and a half years and the company’s fifth passenger flight overall.
Last month, SpaceX launched its first private flight, sending a billionaire and his three guests into orbit.
