SpaceX rolls rocket to pad ahead of Crew-5 astronaut launch (photos)

October 3, 2022

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The {hardware} that may fly SpaceX’s subsequent astronaut mission for NASA is poised and prepared for liftoff.

The Crew-5 mission is scheduled to launch at midday EDT (1600 GMT) on Wednesday (Oct. 5) from Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida, and group members have been checking off bins within the leadup.

On Saturday (Oct. 1), for instance, the 4 Crew-5 astronauts — NASA’s Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, Japan’s Koichi Wakata and Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina — arrived at KSC from NASA’s Johnson House Heart in Houston.

Associated: SpaceX Crew-5 astronauts ready for historic mission

One other shot of the Crew-5 stack on Pad 39A Oct. 1, 2022. The mission is scheduled to launch on Oct. 5. (Picture credit score: SpaceX by way of Twitter)

That very same day, the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule that may fly Crew-5 had been rolled out to Pad 39A from SpaceX‘s processing facility at KSC. The Falcon 9 is jarringly white and clear by SpaceX requirements; Elon Musk’s firm is legendary for touchdown and reflying boosters, which get soot-blackened throughout their journeys again to Earth. However Crew-5 would be the first mission for this specific Falcon 9 first stage.

On Sunday (Oct. 2), SpaceX carried out a “static hearth” check of the Falcon 9, lighting up the primary stage’s 9 Merlin engines briefly in a normal preflight trial. SpaceX, NASA and the Crew-5 astronauts additionally “accomplished a full rehearsal of launch day actions” on Sunday, SpaceX said via Twitter (opens in new tab).

Crew-5 will ship Mann, Cassada, Wakata and Kikina to the International Space Station for a five-month keep. The mission will make historical past in a number of methods. As an illustration, Kikina will change into the primary cosmonaut ever to fly on a SpaceX mission to orbit. And Mann will change into the primary Native American lady to succeed in the ultimate frontier.

Crew-5 is scheduled to launch on Oct. 5, 2022. It will send NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, Japan's Koichi Wakata and cosmonaut Anna Kikina to the International Space Station for about five months.

Crew-5 is scheduled to launch on Oct. 5, 2022. It is going to ship NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, Japan’s Koichi Wakata and cosmonaut Anna Kikina to the Worldwide House Station for about 5 months. (Picture credit score: SpaceX by way of Twitter)

NASA and SpaceX had been concentrating on in the present day (Oct. 3) for Crew-5’s liftoff, however Hurricane Ian pushed issues again by two days.

The storm’s influence on the timeline for NASA’s Artemis 1 moon mission was way more dramatic. NASA had been concentrating on Sept. 27 for the launch of Artemis 1, which is able to raise off from KSC’s Pad 39B. However the Artemis 1 group rolled Artemis 1 off the pad final week to guard it from Ian and is now eyeing a launch in mid-November.

Mike Wall is the writer of “Out There (opens in new tab)” (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a ebook in regards to the seek for alien life. Observe him on Twitter @michaeldwall (opens in new tab). Observe us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) or on Facebook (opens in new tab).