NASA and SpaceX teams have delayed the launch of SpaceX Crew-9 mission by two days to Saturday, 1:17 p.m. ET, due to tropical storm concerns.
Falcon 9 rocket, carrying SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, was scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Thursday.
The change allows teams to complete a rehearsal of launch day activities Tuesday night with the spacecraft, which rolled to Space Launch Complex-40 on Tuesday.
Following rehearsal activities, the integrated system will move back to the hangar ahead of any potential storm activity, NASA said.
Although Tropical Storm Helene is moving through the Gulf of Mexico and expected to impact the Florida panhandle, the storm system is large enough that high winds and heavy rain are expected in the Cape Canaveral and Merritt Island regions on Florida's east coast.
NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov are to launch aboard the Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station on what will be the ninth crew rotation mission with SpaceX under NASA's Commercial Crew Program. They will conduct research and perform maintenance activities during their five-month mission.
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