TITUSVILLE (Florida) (Pakistan Point news / Sputnik - 05th October, 2022) NASA will launch the SpaceX Crew-5 mission, comprised of US and Japanese astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut, to the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday.
The Crew-5 flight will carry NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, who will serve as mission commander and pilot, respectively as well as with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina, who will serve as mission specialists.
The launch is scheduled to take place at 12:00 p.m. EDT from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The Dragon spacecraft, named Endurance, is targeted to dock with the space station at 4:57 p.m. EDT the following day on Thursday.
The original launch date was set for Monday but was changed because of Hurricane Ian passing through Florida.
On Monday night, SpaceX Human Spaceflight Programs Senior Director Benji Reed told reporters that NASA and SpaceX currently see nothing that could potentially delay the launch.
US Space Force 45th Weather Squadron launch weather officer Brian Cizek added that good weather is expected at the launch site Wednesday through Friday.
Reed said in a press briefing on Monday that they are thankful to NASA, Russia and the ESA for the chance to fly astronauts to the ISS.
In July, Roscosmos and NASA signed an agreement on integrated flights of cosmonauts and astronauts to the ISS. As part of the agreement, the Soyuz-2.1a rocket with a Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft was launched from Baikonur to the ISS on September 21 carrying Russian cosmonauts Sergei Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin as well as NASA astronaut Francisco Rubio.
