by SpaceX delayed the liftoff of its next fleet of Starlink satellites in order to launch four astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA on Wednesday (October 5).
In what appears to be a rocket logjam for SpaceX, the company announced Tuesday that it has delayed the planned launch of 52 Starlink Internet satellites from California’s Vandenberg Space Base until Wednesday (Oct. 5) — a one-day delay — to make way for for the launch of the Crew-5 mission for NASA, the company’s next astronaut mission. This flight is also scheduled to depart on Wednesday. Liftoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. EDT (1600 GMT) and you can watch it live online, courtesy of NASA TV, starting at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT).
More: SpaceX Crew-5 astronaut mission for NASA: Live updates
“Falcon 9 and Dragon look good for tomorrow’s Crew-5 launch at 12:00 PM ET; teams are monitoring winds along the ascent runway,” SpaceX wrote in a Twitter update (opens in new tab) Wednesday afternoon.
“Targeting later that day, at 4:10pm PT, for the launch of Starlink from California by Falcon 9,” SpaceX He wrote (opens in new tab) in another message. This update refers to SpaceX’s Starlink launch from Vandenberg, which was originally scheduled to launch on Monday (October 3) but was delayed to Tuesday to allow extra time for pre-launch rocket checks. The move to Wednesday is the second delay in as many days. You can watch a live stream of SpaceX’s next Starlink launch approximately 15 minutes before liftoff Wednesday night at 7:10 p.m. EDT (2310 GMT).
Starlink’s delay, however, allows SpaceX to fully focus on the launch of Crew-5, its fifth operational flight of astronauts for NASA. The mission will launch American astronauts Nicole Mann, 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 is facing three issues ahead of the Crew-5 launch. Those issues included the replacement of a suspected thrust valve actuator in one of the Falcon 9 rocket engines for the mission, a leaking portable fire extinguisher that needed repairs, and a communication problem aboard the Just Read The Instructions drone ship, where the Falcon 9 first stage will land after the flight.
SpaceX said Monday that its engineers are expected to complete all work by Tuesday, in time for the launch. With SpaceX’s latest update, that seems 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 doubleheader.
This third Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to launch two communications satellites for Intelsat, Galaxy 33 and Galaxy 34, on Thursday (October 6) at 7:07 p.m. EDT (2307 GMT). It will lift off from SpaceX’s Space Launch Complex 40 pad at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station near the Kennedy Space Center.
Email Tariq Malik at [email protected] or follow him @tariqjmalik. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Instagram.
