NASA and SpaceX are calling off Friday's early morning launch attempt of the Crew-7 mission, slated to transport four passengers to the International Space Station.
Teams are taking additional time to review the Dragon capsule's environmental and life support systems. During this review, NASA said the rocket and spacecraft remain healthy and the crew is ready to fly when the team is ready.
The launch, which was scheduled for Friday at 3:50 a.m. will now shift at least one day, with a new target launch of no earlier than Saturday at 3:27 a.m. Weather for the backup date is very good — with a 95% chance of favorable conditions for launch.
Launch update: The @NASA @SpaceX Crew-7 mission is targeting no earlier than Aug.26 at 3:27am ET.
— NASA's Kennedy Space Center (@NASAKennedy) August 25, 2023
Live launch coverage will begin at 11:30pm ET on Aug.25. pic.twitter.com/gPmK1uaa6W
Once launched, it will take the crew about 22 hours to reach the station. Crew-7 will be a six-month mission where the participants will live and work on the station, performing science experiments and maintenance of the orbiting lab.
The crew will make the trip in SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule. This spacecraft has already made two trips to the station and back.
Crew-7 will be the eleventh time that SpaceX has launched humans into orbit. It’s commanded by NASA’s Jasmin Moghbeli and it's her first time traveling into space. Moghbeli is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps and has a total of 2,000 hours flight time in more than 25 different aircraft.
Piloting the mission is European Space Agency astronaut Andreas Mogensen along with mission specialists Satoshi Furukawa from the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency and Russian's Roscosmo cosmonaut Konstatantin Borisov.
One the crew completes its mission, Crew-7 will return to Earth splashing down off the coast of Florida.
