Today, SpaceX will send Crew-11 astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) for NASA, following a postponement.
The SpaceX Crew-11 mission, scheduled for August 1, 2025, is set to take four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). The launch, which will occur from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is confirmed for 11:43 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) / 15:43 UTC.
Originally targeted for July 31, the launch was postponed due to unfavourable weather conditions. The Crew-11 astronauts include NASA's Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Kimiya Yui from Japan's JAXA, and cosmonaut Oleg Platonov from Roscosmos.
Zena Cardman and Oleg Platonov will be embarking on their first space missions, while Mike Fincke and Kimiya Yui have previous space mission experience, with Fincke having participated in three missions and Yui in one.
The mission's commander is Zena Cardman, with Mike Fincke serving as the pilot, and Yui and Platonov as mission specialists. The Crew Dragon capsule for this mission is named Endeavour, SpaceX's most-flown Crew Dragon capsule, as it will be the sixth mission for this specific capsule.
If all goes according to plan, the capsule will dock with the ISS on Saturday, August 2 around 3 a.m. EDT (0700 GMT). Upon arrival, the Crew-11 astronauts are expected to relieve the four members of SpaceX's Crew-10, who arrived at the ISS in March. Crew-10 will return to Earth a few days after Crew-11 docks.
SpaceX's Crew-11 mission is the 11th operational astronaut mission under its contract with NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The company has flown more human flights than just Crew-11, including a crewed test mission to the ISS in 2020 and seven private astronaut missions to orbit.
This mission aims to continue the ongoing efforts to maintain and advance research on the ISS, furthering our understanding of living and working in space for extended durations, and contributing to the advancement of space exploration.
Weather conditions may impact the launch of SpaceX's Crew-11 mission again, as the new schedule is set for August 1, 2025, following an initial postponement due to unfavorable weather. Science, technology, and space-and-astronomy news continue to follow the mission closely.
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