Bad weather delays SpaceX crew launch until Friday

STORY: US FL SpaceX Crew Launch - Bad weather delays SpaceX crew launch until Friday

LENGTH: 01:18

FIRST RUN: 1516

RESTRICTIONS: Must credit NASA

TYPE: English/Natsound

SOURCE: NASA TV

STORY NUMBER: 4322016

DATELINE: 21 April 2021 - Cape Canaveral

SHOTLIST:

RESTRICTION SUMMARY: MUST CREDIT 'NASA'

++SOUNDBITES SEPARATED BY BLACK FRAMES++

NASA TV - MUST CREDIT 'NASA'

Cape Canaveral, Florida - 21 April 2021

1. Wide of news conference

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Bob Cabana, Kennedy Space Center Director:

"Now, I'm sure you've probably heard that we're going to have to delay a day. We're not going to be able to launch tomorrow morning and although the weather is probably going to look great here at the launch site, we're worried about those down range winds and wave heights in case of an abort should that happen. And as soon as this front gets through it's going to be absolutely beautiful on Friday morning, and we're going to come out and do it again."

++BLACK FRAMES++

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Steve Jurczyk, Acting NASA Administrator:

"As Bob mentioned, we've got some inclement weather offshore. Unlike a robotics mission, where we just really need to focus on weather here, here at the launch site, for a crewed mission we need to look down range and make sure our weather is good for a launch escape, potential launch escape, and for, uh, recovery of the crew. And so, we'll be scheduled for go, to go on Friday. Weather looks better on Friday and it will be at 5:49 a.m. I met with the crew last night. They are ready to go. They are really, I asked them what they looked forward to the most in the mission and they said launching and getting up on station and getting to work. And we also talk about some of the things they're going to do like EVA to install new solar arrays on station, which is going to provide additional capability for the ISS."

++EDIT ENDS ON A SOUNDBITE++

STORYLINE:

SpaceX on Wednesday bumped its next astronaut launch by a day because of dangerously high waves and wind offshore.

Liftoff is now scheduled for early Friday morning from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, when better weather is expected.

The SpaceX Dragon capsule has the ability to abort the launch all the way to orbit in case of an emergency. That's why good weather is needed not only at the Florida launch site, but all the way up the East Coast and across the North Atlantic to Ireland.

The four astronauts — from the U.S., Japan and France — will spend six months at the International Space Station.

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