NASA delays Crew-5 launch with Russian cosmonaut to ISS due to damaged SpaceX rocket

NASA's Crew-5 mission which was scheduled for launch on September 1 has been delayed by almost a month. The launch date has been pushed to September 29 owing to the damage sustained by the Falcon 9 rocket during its shipment from SpaceX’s production factory in California, to its McGregor facility in Texas for stage testing.

The Crew-5 mission is NASA's crew-rotation mission wherein a new batch of four astronauts would launch in a SpaceX capsule to replace the previous batch of four in the International Space Station (ISS). For the launch, SpaceX will rent its Falcon 9 rocket which will lift off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

"A launch at the end of September will allow SpaceX to complete hardware processing and mission teams will continue to review the launch date based on the space station’s visiting spacecraft schedule", NASA said in a statement.

Currently, the SpaceX team is removing and replacing the hardware that got damaged during the shipment of the rocket. Besides, the Dragon capsule 'Endurance' which will transport the four astronauts to the ISS is also undergoing refurbishment. 

It was the same spacecraft that was used to launch the Crew-3 astronauts to the ISS, however, it will now be equipped with a new heat shield, along with other components such as parachutes, and pod panels. After the teams complete all rocket and spacecraft system checkouts, Endurance will be appended to the Falcon 9 rocket and rolled to the pad for a static fire test ahead of the launch.

More about the Crew-5 mission

The new team includes two NASA astronauts - Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada - JAXA’s (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Koichi Wakata, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina. The launch window for this would open after the scheduled  Soyuz undocking and launch period which extends from September 16 to September 30.

What's most interesting about this mission is Kikina's flight in an American capsule considering the dent the Russia-US relationship has endured owing to the Ukraine crisis. Kikina is currently the only active female cosmonaut from Russia and will become the first Russian to board a commercial US spacecraft.