NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine told reporters that the expected weather conditions on Saturday offer a 50 percent chance to launch the first US manned spacecraft in nearly a decade and the mission may experience further delays
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th May, 2020) NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine told reporters that the expected weather conditions on Saturday offer a 50 percent chance to launch the first US manned spacecraft in nearly a decade and the mission may experience further delays.
"Tomorrow, it's about a 50 percent probability that we are going to have the conditions capable of launching at the time of launch here at the Cape [Canaveral].� Of course, we need to add in the uncertainty down range... We have to have the right weather conditions down range at the same time," Bridenstine said during a briefing on Friday.
The launch of the world's first commercially built manned spacecraft to the International Space Station in the first crewed mission from the United States in nine years was initially planned for Wednesday, but the launch was postponed because of bad weather.
Bridenstine said that the timing of the mission will be discussed at another weather brief later on Friday.
"We might make a decision that Sunday is the day, not Saturday," Bridenstine said. "We are looking at Saturday, we are looking at Sunday. We have some other days beyond that where we could launch... We are looking at maybe the 2nd and the 3rd [of June] as well, although it's not the certainty at this point."
Bridenstine noted that repeated delays may start wearing out the crew - NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken - and increase human factor risks.
