The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and aerospace company SpaceX have postponed the launch of the Crew-11 crewed mission to the International Space Station (ISS) at the last minute due to unfavorable weather conditions at the launch site.
According to the original plan, the Dragon spacecraft carrying four crew members for the Crew-11 mission was scheduled to launch at 12:09 PM on July 31st, US Eastern Time (23:09 on the same day, Vietnam time) from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA.
However, the launch was temporarily halted about one minute before liftoff due to thick clouds and the risk of thunderstorms around the launch pad. According to NASA, the next launch opportunity may be on August 1st, local time.
The Crew-11 mission consists of four members: two NASA astronauts, Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke; astronaut Kimiya Yui from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA); and astronaut Oleg Platonov from the Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos). This will be the first space flight for astronauts Cardman and Platonov.
Although missions to the ISS typically last six months, the Crew-11 mission may be the first of several planned missions that will last eight months. This is also part of a new effort to synchronize the US and Russian schedules.
Crew-11 is a mission that continues a series of successful flights by NASA and SpaceX, contributing to the sustained human presence in space and opening new avenues for space exploration .
Crew-11 will replace the Crew-10 crew on the ISS. Crew-10 is expected to leave the station on August 6th.
The Crew-11 mission plan comes as leaders of the Russian and US space agencies have held their first talks in five years, opening up new prospects for bilateral relations in this field.
At a meeting on July 31st at the Kennedy Space Center, Dmitry Bakanov, Director of the Russian space research corporation Roskosmos, and Sean Duffy, US Secretary of Transportation and Director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), discussed several important issues, including maintaining the operation of the ISS and advancing lunar and far-space exploration programs.
The two sides have also established a joint working group to study options for safely removing the ISS from its orbit, as well as plans for sinking the station in the future.
Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/nasa-du-kien-phuc-hoi-ke-hoach-dua-phi-hanh-doan-crew-11-len-iss-post1053154.vnp
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