NASA and SpaceX postpone Crew-9 launch to September 28 due to weather concerns – NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 mission

NASA and SpaceX teams have pushed back the next launch date for NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 mission to no earlier than 1:17 p.m. EDT on Saturday, Sept. 28, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida because tropical storms are expected in the region. The change will allow teams to conduct a rehearsal of launch activities Tuesday evening using the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket, which rolled into Space Launch Complex-40 earlier in the day. After the rehearsal activities, the integrated system will be moved back to the hangar ahead of potential storms.

Although Tropical Storm Helene is moving through the Gulf of Mexico and is expected to hit the Florida Panhandle, the storm system is large enough that strong winds and heavy rains are expected in the Cape Canaveral and Merritt Island regions on Florida's east coast.

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov will launch to the International Space Station aboard the Dragon spacecraft. This will be the ninth crew rotation mission with SpaceX as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. During their five-month mission, they will conduct research and perform maintenance. The mission will launch from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.