The next crew of astronauts, SpaceX Crew-3, to go to the International Space Station is scheduled to arrive at the Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday, October 26, ahead of the launch this weekend. The NASA SpaceX Crew-3 mission is scheduled to launch from Launch Complex 39A at 2:21 am on Sunday, October 31 in a Crew Dragon spacecraft on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. The launch, which had been set for Saturday, has been postponed to allow for extra “spacecraft processing.”

NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, and Kyala Barron, as well as European Space Agency astronaut Mathias Maurer, are slated to dock with the International Space Station early Monday, November 1, about 22 hours after the Crew-3 launch date, according to NASA. Four astronauts will spend six months on the International Space Station. Chari, Barron, and Maurer will be making their debut spaceflights on this mission, while Marshburn will be doing his third.

According to NASA, astronauts will embark on a long-duration science mission onboard the orbiting laboratory, living and working as part of what is planned to be a seven-member crew. Astronauts would have some overlap with the Crew-2 mission. NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet are scheduled to return to Earth between early and mid-November, according to the space agency. The Crew Dragon spacecraft will make its fifth crew launch, although for NASA, it’ll will be the fourth.

Indian-American astronaut Raja Chari to lead mission

The SpaceX rocket will transport a crew of four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) for this mission, which will be led by Indian-American astronaut Raja Chari. In an announcement, NASA stated that this new date of launch is to allow them additional time for spacecraft processing.

Moreover, if the mission needs more time, NASA has also planned on a backup launch time and date which is 10.40 am on November 3. Currently, the crew members comprising of NASA astronauts Raja Chari, mission commander, Tom Marshburn, pilot, and Kayla Barron, mission specialist, along with European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer, are under a quarantine period that started on October 16.

SpaceX has improved the Dragon spacecraft to safeguard the communications system from radiation and to allow for flawless docking mechanisms and procedures once it reaches the ISS. Following the launch of the Inspiration4 spacecraft, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk promised a better waste management system, and the Endurance spaceship now features a better bathroom system. The Crew-3 mission will carry the third crew to fly a full-duration mission to the space station on Dragon for a six-month stay on the orbiting laboratory, with the goal of returning Crew-2 personnel to Earth.

(Image: @Commercial_Crew/Twitter)