The NASA space agency announced the postponement of the launch of the Crew-5 mission. The launch was originally scheduled for early September, but now the agency says the launch of the Crew-5 mission will not happen until September 29. The spacecraft is to deliver NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata and Roskosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina to the ISS.
The postponement of the launch to a later date is caused by the need to replace the Falcon 9 launch vehicle, which was supposed to send the Crew Dragon capsule into space. The rocket was damaged during transport from the SpaceX facility in Hawthorne, California to the test site in McGregor, Texas, and is now unusable for launch. As a result, SpaceX had to remove the intermediate stage of the rocket (the section between the booster and the upper stage) and some instruments.
SpaceX conducted inspections and tests of the launch vehicle to make sure the damage was limited to an intermediate level, and NASA said it verified the work. The launch vehicle will now undergo regular stage tests at McGregor before being certified for flight.
Considering the postponement of the launch of Crew-5, now the Russian Soyuz-2.1a rocket with the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft will be the first to launch in the cross-flight program. As part of this mission, cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmytro Petelin, as well as NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, will arrive at the ISS.
We will also remind you that NASA and the Russian space agency “Roscosmos” signed an agreement in July 2022 to combine flights to the International Space Station. As Reuters writes, it will allow sending Russian cosmonauts to the ISS with the help of American spacecraft, while American astronauts will fly on Russian Soyuz spacecraft.
“Roskosmos” adds that the agreement will contribute to “exploration of outer space for peaceful purposes.” Although recently, the Russian crew of the ISS was engaged in spreading anti-Ukrainian propaganda on the ISS. After that, NASA condemned the Russian cosmonauts, and the former commander of the ISS altogether suggested withdrawing Russia from the partnership on the space station. However, despite the growing tension in relations due to Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, on a practical level, NASA still plans to cooperate with Russia, including inviting Russian crews on American spaceships.
According to NASA, the first joint flights under the new agreement will take place in September. American astronaut Frank Rubio will then depart for the space station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome along with two Russian cosmonauts, Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin. Instead, astronaut Anna Kikina will join two American astronauts and a Japanese astronaut on a SpaceX Crew Dragon flight from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Kikina is set to become the first Russian woman to fly on a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule. She was preparing for the mission at NASA’s astronaut headquarters in Houston while the deal was being negotiated.
NASA has said that having at least one Russian and one American aboard the space station is critical to keeping the lab running. And joint flights “ensure that there are properly trained crew members on board the station for necessary maintenance and spacewalks.”
Furthermore, let us remind you that shortly before the announcement of the agreement, the head of Roskosmos, Dmytro Rogozin, was dismissed.
