Lovers of space expeditions will still have to wait.

The manned take-off from NASA and SpaceX to the International Space Station (ISS), scheduled for Thursday, April 22 with, in particular, the Frenchman Thomas Pesquet on board, was postponed for a day because of the weather, the agency announced. space station Wednesday April 21.

Launch Update 🚀 @NASA and @SpaceX now are targeting Friday, April 23 at 5:49 am ET for the launch of the Crew-2 mission to the @Space_Station due to unfavorable weather conditions along the flight path on Thursday.



Learn more: https://t.co/GSBum6JjfN pic.twitter.com/ylfQx0u2qT

- NASA Commercial Crew (@Commercial_Crew) April 21, 2021

The flight is scheduled to take place at 5:49 a.m. (9:49 a.m. GMT) on Friday instead of at 6:11 a.m. (10:11 a.m. GMT) on Thursday, due to "adverse weather conditions."

"Even if the conditions around the launch site were to be favorable for takeoff, the teams must also take into account the conditions along the flight path," Nasa said in a statement.

The mission will take off from Kennedy Space Center, Florida.

The US space agency "predicts a 90% probability of favorable weather conditions" for take-off, and the weather is also expected to "improve" along the flight path.

The wind remains "the main meteorological concern" regarding takeoff.

This is SpaceX's second mission to the International Space Station since the United States resumed manned space flights, and the first with a European on board: Frenchman Thomas Pesquet.

The mission, dubbed Crew-2, also includes two American astronauts, Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, as well as the Japanese Akihiko Hoshide.

>> To read also:

 The blobs, amazing companions of Thomas Pesquet on board the ISS

The team of astronauts will be responsible for conducting many scientific experiments, such as examining the effects of weightlessness on brain organoids (mini-brains created in the laboratory).

Another big part of the mission was to upgrade the station's solar power system by installing new compact panels that roll out like a huge yoga mat.

With AFP

The summary of the week

France 24 invites you to come back to the news that marked the week

I subscribe

Take international news everywhere with you!

Download the France 24 application

google-play-badge_FR