SpaceX delayed the liftoff of its next batch of Starlink satellites to launch four astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA on Wednesday (October 5).
In what appears to be a rocket traffic jam for SpaceX, the company announced on Tuesday (October 4) that it had pushed back the planned launch of 52 Starlink internet satellites from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base to Wednesday (October 5) at the earliest. — a one-day delay — to focus on launching the Crew-5 mission for NASA, the company’s next astronaut flight.
Crew-5 is also set to launch on Wednesday. Liftoff is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. EDT (16:00 GMT) and you can watch it live online, courtesy of NASA TV, starting at 8:30 a.m. EDT (12:30 GMT).
After: SpaceX Crew-5 Astronaut Mission for NASA: Live Updates
“Falcon 9 and Dragon look good for Crew-5 launch tomorrow at 12:00 p.m. ET; crews are monitoring winds along the ascent corridor,” SpaceX wrote in a statement. Twitter update (opens in a new tab) Wednesday afternoon.
“Targeting later today, 4:10 p.m. PT, for Starlink Falcon 9 launch from California,” SpaceX wrote (opens in a new tab) in another post. This update references SpaceX’s Starlink launch from Vandenberg, which was originally scheduled to launch on Monday (October 3), but was postponed to Tuesday to allow more time for rocket checks before launch. The move to Wednesday is its second postponement in as many days. You can watch a live stream of SpaceX’s upcoming Starlink launch about 15 minutes before liftoff Wednesday night at 7:10 p.m. EDT (2310 GMT).
The Starlink delay, however, allows SpaceX to fully focus on launching Crew-5, its fifth operational astronaut flight for NASA. The mission will launch American astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Casada, Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata and Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina to the International Space Station from Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. They will arrive at the station on Thursday.
Late Monday, SpaceX and NASA said the private spaceflight company founded by billionaire Elon Musk was tackling three issues ahead of Crew-5’s launch. These issues included the replacement of a suspect thrust valve actuator on one of the Falcon 9 rocket engines for the mission, a leaking portable fire extinguisher that required repairs, and a communication issue on the Just Read The Instructions drone. where the Falcon 9 first stage will land after the flight.
SpaceX said Monday that its engineers must complete all work by Tuesday, in time for launch. With SpaceX’s latest update, that appears to be the case.
Meanwhile, SpaceX still has a third Falcon 9 rocket launch waiting in the wings to follow Wednesday’s Crew-5 and Starlink double header.
This third Falcon 9 rocket is currently scheduled to launch two communications satellites for Intelsat, Galaxy 33 and Galaxy 34, Thursday, October 6 at 7:07 p.m. EDT (23:07 GMT). It will lift off from SpaceX Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station near Kennedy Space Center.
Email Tariq Malik at [email protected] or follow him @tariqjmalik. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and instagram.
