NASA, SpaceX Delay ISS Mission Launch Due to Bad Weather

NASA and SpaceX announced on Monday that due to poor weather expected on February 11, when they will launch their mission to the International Space Station, the launch has been pushed to no sooner than February 12. The crew, comprising NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, are currently quarantined at Kennedy Space Center, waiting on their next launch window.

Mission and Crew

According to official sources, Crew-12 is NASA's 12th rotational crew mission to the ISS. The mission will carry four astronauts on a science expedition and support research for future Moon and Mars missions. Jessica Meir will command the flight with Jack Hathaway as pilot. Meir (205 days in space) and Hathaway (a Navy pilot) will lead the crew. ESA's Sophie Adenot and Roscosmos's Andrey Fedyaev will serve as mission specialists. Adenot, on her first flight, was a French helicopter test pilot. Fedyaev, on his second mission, flew 186 days on Crew-6 in 2023.

Spacecraft and Launch Vehicle

The crew capsule for Crew-12's mission is scheduled to blast off atop SpaceX's two-part Falcon 9 launch vehicle from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral. The first stage consists of nine Merlin 1D engines rated at 845 kN of thrust apiece. It features grid fins and landing gear designed for reuse. The second stage sports a Merlin Vacuum Engine that propels the Dragon capsule to orbit. The Crew Dragon spacecraft is SpaceX's version of their Dragon 2 capsule. It has a crew capacity of up to seven and can dock automatically with the space station. Once done, it returns to Earth via a sea landing.