Launch Targeted For 0549 EDT Friday, April 23

ANN RealTime Update, 04.21.21: The launch now is targeted for 5:49 a.m. EDT Friday, April 23, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, due to unfavorable weather conditions forecast along the flight path for Thursday. The Crew Dragon is scheduled to dock to the space station about 5:10 a.m. Saturday, April. 24. More info to come...

Original Content:  NASA is in final prep mode for the upcoming launch of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission with astronauts to the International Space Station. This is the second crew rotation flight of the SpaceX Crew Dragon and the first with two international partners. The flight follows certification by NASA for regular flights to the space station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.

The launch, on a Falcon 9 rocket, is targeted for 6:11 a.m. EDT Thursday, April 22, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Crew Dragon is scheduled to dock to the space station about 5:30 a.m. Friday, April. 23.

“We’re ‘go’ for launch,” said Steve Stich, manager of the Commercial Crew Program at Kennedy Space Center. “Both Thursday and Friday launch weather looks good, with concern of winds around the pad for Thursday. Downrange weather is trickier as the front and the winds combine to create winds and waves. Friday looks better than Thursday, but we’ll continue to watch; we have another briefing tomorrow and will decide when the right time to make a decision is.”

The U.S. Space Force 45th Weather Squadron predicts an 80% chance of favorable weather conditions for lift off at the launch pad of the Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon based on Falcon 9 Crew Dragon launch weather criteria.

The primary weather concerns for the launch area will be liftoff winds. Teams also are monitoring weather conditions downrange for the flight of Crew Dragon.

The Crew-2 flight will carry NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur – who will serve as the mission’s spacecraft commander and pilot, respectively – along with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency)  astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet, who will serve as mission specialists to the space station for a six-month science mission.

FMI: www.nasa.gov, www.spacex.com