NASA-SpaceX Crew-7 launch postponed to August 26
The Crew-7 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) has been delayed. The crewed mission was originally planned to launch today. The new targeted launch schedule is now set for 12:57pm IST on Saturday (August 26). The reason for the postponement remains unclear. Both SpaceX and NASA have confirmed that the vehicles remain in good condition and the crew is prepared for the mission. "The new launch date provides teams additional time to complete and discuss analysis," said SpaceX.
Crew-7 will take four international astronauts to the ISS
SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule Endurance will transport four astronauts from different space agencies to the ISS. The Crew-7 team includes NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, European Space Agency's Andreas Mogensen, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) Satoshi Furukawa, and Russian space agency Roscosmos's Konstantin Borisov. Moghbeli will command Endurance while Mogensen will pilot the capsule. Borisov and Furukawa will hold the position of mission specialist.
The crew will perform over 200 experiments
During their time aboard the ISS, Crew-7 astronauts will perform over 200 research technology demonstrations and scientific studies. In addition, they will be performing other routine maintenance activities on the orbiting space lab. As part of the mission's investigations, the astronauts will also collect microbial samples from the ISS which will then be returned to Earth for further analysis. There will also be studies assessing how space affects the human body and the sleep differences on Earth and in space.
The mission is SpaceX's seventh operational flight to the ISS
Crew-7 astronauts will replace the four crew members who arrived at the ISS via the Crew-6 mission in March. Crew-6 is supposed to make their return trip to Earth roughly five days after welcoming Crew-7. As the name suggests, Crew-7 will mark the seventh crew rotation at the ISS. Also, it will be SpaceX's seventh operational mission to the orbiting space lab for NASA and its 11th human spaceflight. Tomorrow's launch will happen from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
