NASA/SpaceX Crew Launch Scrubbed, Rescheduled
Today the SpaceX/NASA launch was scrubbed due to imperfect atmospheric conditions. This was expected partway through the day due to inclement weather – and the appearance of a tornado in the area. NASA reported that, had they been working with a slightly more open launch window, they might've been able to launch a little later T-0, but this was an "instantaneous launch window" that could not be changed.
As the launch today was scrubbed at 4:33 PM EDT, SpaceX was reported by NASA to begin removing propellant from the Falcon 9 rocket. Once propellant is removed, NASA reported that the two astronauts assigned to the mission will exit the Crew Dragon spacecraft. If you're watching the live feed, coverage will continue until the crew has left the pad for Astronaut Crew Quarters.
The rescheduled date for this launch is May 30, 2020, at 3:22 PM Eastern Time. That's 15:22 Eastern Time, or 2:22 PM Central Time, 1:22 Mountain Time, and 22 minutes after noon, Pacific Time.
Falcon 9 on the pad for launch today. Weather is iffy. pic.twitter.com/MK41dctSOF
— Ben Cooper (@LaunchPhoto) May 27, 2020
Once this mission actually launches, it'll be the first US orbital crewed launch since the year 2011. The SpaceX Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon spacecraft will still be set to take off from Launch Complex 39A with Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley. The broadcast of this event will still be set for the same live streams via NASA.
Several other events were scrubbed as a result of this launch delay. May 28 and May 29 would've been the dates of an astronaut downlink event from Crew Dragon, as well as a Post-Arrival News Conferenct at Johnson Space Center, then an International Space Station Expedition 63 crew news conference with Commander Chris Cassidy of NASA and astronauts Behnken and Hurley.
If you'd like to take a peek at a collection of images and videos for this mission, head over to the CCP Press Kit site with NASA. There you'll find graphics for the DM-2 (Demo-2) First Crewed Flight mission and a history of the events that've taken place in the CPP over the past year. Also stay tuned to SlashGear as we continue to cover the full program from start to finish!