NASA Delays SpaceX Crew-3 Mission Launch Again To Saturday Due To Astronaut Non-COVID-19 Medical Issue

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has postponed the launch of the SpaceX Crew-3 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) until Saturday. One of the astronauts is facing a "minor medical issue."

"The agency takes every effort to protect the crew prior to its launch through a health stabilization plan," a NASA news release reads. Livestream coverage from NASA is available on YouTube and on the agency's website.

NASA Pushes Back Crew-3 Mission Again To Saturday

The launch of SpaceX's Crew-3 mission has been delayed again, this time until a considerably later date. Space.com said the crewed mission is slated to launch on November 6 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The earliest the space agency could lift off the mission is 11:36 p.m. EDT Saturday. That is, assuming the launch does not encounter another setback.

NASA officials revealed that the delay is due to a "minor medical issue." The space agency added that the problem is "not a medical emergency" and that it is "not linked to COVID-19."

NASA has failed to offer any specifics about the medical condition. The space agency has also refused to name whose astronaut is having the problem.

The remainder of the Crew-3 astronauts, on the other hand, is presently quarantined at the Kennedy Space Center, according to NASA officials, who explained that this is standard pre-launch protocol. Space agency officials assured that the Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 are "in good health."

NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Kayla Barron, and Thomas Marshburn, as well as Matthias Maurer of the European Space Agency (ESA), will go to the International Space Station for a six-month stay. They will be transported to the orbiting lab in a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft that will be launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket.

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Previous SpaceX Crew-3 Mission Delay

Science Times said NASA is supposed to launch SpaceX's Crew-3 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on October 30. The crew would be made up of NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) personnel.

As a result, SpaceX's 5th crewed flight, Crew-3, was dubbed the Halloween launch.

But in another Science Times report, the Elon Musk-led space exploration firm's Halloween launch has been rescheduled until November 3, Wednesday. It was after the weather failed to cooperate with the Crew-3 Mission's lift-off.

Crew-3 is SpaceX's third operational trip to the International Space Station for NASA. The space agency sent Crew-2, the second spacecraft, into orbit in April and is expected to return to Earth soon.

But space agency officials are still reviewing departure dates for the members of Crew-2 mission. The crew includes European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur.