NASA, SpaceX push Crew-4 launch back to at least Wednesday

New launch time is no earlier than 3:52 a.m. Wednesday

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 astronauts participate in a training session at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California. From left: NASA astronaut and SpaceX Crew-4 mission specialist Jessica Watkins, NASA astronaut and SpaceX Crew-4 pilot Robert Hines, NASA astronaut and SpaceX Crew-4 commander Kjell Lindgren, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut and Crew-4 mission specialist Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy. (NASA)

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. – The SpaceX Crew-4 mission to the International Space Station will now launch no earlier than Wednesday morning.

NASA and SpaceX pushed the crewed mission back a day so that positioning of the ISS is more favorable for a rendezvous.

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The launch was originally going to happen Tuesday morning, but will now be no earlier than 3:52 a.m. Wednesday from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center.

If the mission is delayed again, another launch opportunity is set for Thursday.

The SpaceX Crew-4 mission was supposed to happen sooner, but it was delayed because of weather concerns in bringing the Axiom Mission 1 back to Earth. That mission, featuring an all-private astronaut crew, is expected to now return to Earth at 1:46 p.m., with splashdown off the coast of Florida.

The Crew-4 astronauts will fly in a new Dragon spacecraft on top of a Falcon 9 rocket. The four-person team -- Kjell Lindgren, Robert Hines, Jessica Watkins and European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti -- will meet up with the SpaceX Crew-3 team at the ISS. After a five-day handover, that team will return home.


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Christie joined the ClickOrlando team in November 2021.

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