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This post may refer to COVID-19

This post may refer to COVID-19

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NASA announces rare health-related SpaceX launch delay
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NASA announces rare health-related SpaceX launch delay

The launch, which had been set for Wednesday, has now been rescheduled for Saturday night.

Science & Tech

NASA has announced a rare, health-related delay in its SpaceX rocket launch of four astronauts to the International Space Station, the second postponement of the mission in a week, citing an unspecified medical issue with one of the crew.

NASA said on Monday the issue was “not a medical emergency and not related to COVID-19,” but the space agency declined to elaborate on the nature of the problem or say which astronaut was involved.

The launch, originally set for Sunday but then postponed until this Wednesday because of unsuitable weather conditions, has now been rescheduled for Saturday night, NASA said.

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The last time NASA delayed a scheduled launch over a medical issue involving the crew was for a Space Shuttle Atlantis flight in 1990 when mission commander John Creighton fell ill. The countdown was halted for three days until he was cleared to fly, according to NASA.

Six-month mission

The SpaceX-built vehicle set to fly this weekend, consisting of a Crew Dragon capsule perched atop a two-stage Falcon 9 rocket, is now set for liftoff at 11:36pm on Saturday (03:36 GMT on Sunday) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

If all goes smoothly, the three US astronauts and their European Space Agency (ESA) crewmate will arrive 22 hours later and dock with the space station 250 miles (400km) above the Earth to begin a six-month science mission on board the orbiting laboratory.

For the time being, the four crew members will remain under routine quarantine at the Cape as they continue launch preparations, NASA said.