Video: Alice Bowman, New Horizons mission operations manager, previews Ultima Thule flyby (members only)

The first official launch weather outlook issued Tuesday by U.S. Air Force meteorologists predicts an 80 percent chance of favorable conditions for the predawn liftoff Saturday of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft on a test flight to the International Space Station.

SpaceX launched the first in a series of small satellite rideshare missions Sunday from Cape Canaveral, providing transportation for 143 U.S. and international spacecraft to low Earth orbit, a record number of satellites on a single flight. Liftoff occurred at 10 a.m. EST (1500 GMT) Sunday after bad weather forced SpaceX to scrub a launch attempt Saturday morning.

Ax-4 will mark the first time an astronaut from India or Poland visits the International Space Station. The mission will be commanded by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, making her second trip to the ISS on behalf of Axiom Space.