Tech Talk: SpaceX set to launch space station’s next astronaut crew for NASA – Gulf Digital News

Tech Talk: SpaceX set to launch space station’s next astronaut crew for NASA – Gulf Digital News

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida: Elon Musk's rocket company SpaceX was due to launch the next long-duration astronaut crew to the International Space Station (ISS) for NASA early on Wednesday, including a medical doctor turned spacewalker and a geologist specializing in Martian landslides.

The SpaceX launch vehicle, consisting of a two-stage Falcon 9 rocket topped with a Crew Dragon capsule dubbed Freedom, was set for liftoff with its four-member crew at 3:52 a.m. EDT (0752 GMT) from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

If all goes according to plan, the three US astronauts and their European Space Agency (ESA) crewmate from Italy will reach the space station about 17 hours later to begin a six-month science mission orbiting some 250 miles (420 km) above Earth.

During a pre-launch briefing on Tuesday, NASA officials said forecasts called for a 90% chance of favorable weather conditions for an on-time lift-off.

"Flying safely with crew means that you've got to do it one step at a time," Kathryn Lueders, associate NASA administrator for space operations, told reporters. "We're hoping that you'll get to see a really, really beautiful step, and we'll get our crew safely to orbit."

The latest mission, designated Crew 4, would mark the fourth full-fledged