SpaceX rolls out Falcon 9 and Dragon capsule to launch pad for NASA's Crew-4 mission

SpaceX, on April 19, rolled out its Falcon 9 rocket mounted with the Dragon capsule to Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The rocket is being prepared for the Crew-4 mission which would send three NASA and one European astronaut to the International Space Station (ISS) on April 23. The launch, which would complete SpaceX's fourth contracted crewed mission, is targeted for 2:56 pm (IST).

SpaceX gears for seventh overall crewed mission

The California-based firm is gearing up in what would be its seventh overall mission to launch astronauts into space. SpaceX's first launch with humans was under the Demo-2 mission in May 2020, when it launched two NASA astronauts to the space station on a test flight. This was followed by Crew 1,2 and 3 along with the Inspiration 4 mission, which carried four private astronauts to space in a three day trip in September 2021. Most recently, the company transported four astronauts to the ISS under the NASA-Axiom Space's Axiom-1 mission. This was the first-ever fully commercial launch to the space station. 

As for the Crew-4, the mission is to send NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Robert Hines and Jessica Watkins and the European Space Agency's (ESA) Samantha Cristoforetti to the ISS. The four astronauts will be replacing NASA's Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn and Kayla Barron, and ESA's Matthias Maurer who arrived at the orbiting laboratory in November, last year. 

Currently, both NASA and SpaceX have another responsibility in their hands, which is to ensure a safe return of the Ax-1 crew members. It was launched to the space station on April 8 with four commercial astronauts, who will be making their return after a 10-day stay. The crew was initially supposed to depart for Earth on April 19 but it has been postponed indefinitely due to unfavourable weather. Axiom Space, in a mission update, tweeted earlier today, "Due to unfavorable weather conditions, we are waving off tonight's undocking of the #Ax1 mission from @Space_Station. The integrated Axiom Space, @NASA and @SpaceX teams are assessing the next best opportunity for the return of Ax-1, the first all-private mission to the ISS (sic)".

(Image: @SpaceX/Twitter)