Sept. 29 (UPI) — NASA is moving the launch date of its Crew-5 project to the International Space Station in the wake of Hurricane Ian, the firm confirmed.
The launch will now take place at 12:00 noon at the earliest. EDT on Wednesday, October 5. A protection date was recently set for 7 October.
The space company had planned to launch no earlier than Oct. 3.
“The Dragon Endurance spacecraft recently paired with the Falcon nine rocket and safely secured SpaceX’s hangar at Launch Complex 3nineA,” NASA said in a statement.
NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada will be joined by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina.
On Monday, NASA postponed the highly anticipated launch of the Artemis I spacecraft and likely wouldn’t attempt another launch until at least mid-October.
The firm said it has started the $4. 1 billion rocket from the launch pad to its hangar in the Kennedy Space Center garage, in anticipation of Hurricane Ian.
More than 2 million people across the state of Florida remained without strength early Thursday, while a 72-year-old man found himself unconscious in a canal near his home.
The hurricane, which downgraded to a tropical typhoon Thursday, made landfall in southwest Florida on Wednesday afternoon with winds of more than 155 mph, leaving a trail of destruction as it moved northeast over the state.