Mission Reports

The planned launch of a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule Wednesday carrying four astronauts to the International Space Station has been delayed to at least Saturday because of a “minor medical issue” with one of the crew members, NASA announced Monday.

NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn, a medical doctor and veteran of launches on the space shuttle and Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft, joins three rookie space fliers on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon “Endurance” poised for liftoff on mission to the International Space Station.

NASA and SpaceX managers in Florida decided early Saturday to delay the launch of the next crew to the International Space Station from Sunday to Wednesday, when high winds and rough seas are expected to subside along the Falcon 9 rocket’s flight path across the Atlantic Ocean.

NASA astronaut Kayla Barron was one of the first women to serve as a submarine officer in the U.S. Navy. Now she’s ready to apply her experience under the waves to a flight above the atmosphere on the International Space Station.

SpaceX test-fired a Falcon 9 rocket at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center early Thursday, checking off another box on the pre-flight checklist before liftoff Sunday with a four-person crew heading for the International Space Station. But a weather forecast shows a high risk that winds or waves int the Atlantic Ocean could force a launch delay.

Matthias Maurer’s last name in German means brick layer. Naturally, Maurer says, that means he has been assigned to perform an experiment with concrete during his six-month stint on the International Space Station.