Nasa and SpaceX set new launch date for Crew-1 mission

Nasa and Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) have set 14 November as the new launch date for the Crew-1 mission.

The launch will be the first crew rotation mission to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.

The programme is a partnership to develop and fly human space transportation systems.

Crew-1 astronauts include Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, along with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) mission specialist Soichi Noguchi.

The mission will launch from Launch Complex 39A at Nasa’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

It will follow the scheduled launch of Nasa’s Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich mission on a SpaceX Falcon 9 from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

The six-month mission was originally planned for 31 October but has been delayed after SpaceX observed off-nominal behaviour of Falcon 9 first stage engine gas generators during a recent non-Nasa launch.

This new target launch date will provide SpaceX some more time to evaluate the unexpected data.

On 28 October, an update will be provided on the launch and the results from the hardware testing and data reviews of the Falcon 9 Merlin engines.

Nasa’s astronauts will integrate with Expedition 64 astronaut Kate Rubins, Expedition 64 commander Sergey Ryzhikov and flight engineer Sergey Kud-Sverchkov.