NASA, SpaceX set new target date for Crew-4 astronaut mission

NASA's mega moon rocket rolls launchpad

Since the fall, the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft have been stacked inside the Vehicle Assembly Building, awaiting the Artemis-1 mission launch. For the first time, the Artemis-1 vehicle made the 4-mile journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building to launchpad 39B.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Axiom Space and SpaceX are adjusting the launch dates for two upcoming crewed missions.

The Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1) will fly on SpaceX's Dragon Endeavour capsule to and from the International Space Station, with a launch no earlier than Sunday, April 3, and splash down off the coast of Florida following 10 days in orbit. The Ax-1 mission will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

As a result of the Ax-1 launch date change, NASA and SpaceX are also adjusting the target launch date for the agency’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission to the space station. The new timeline puts a launch date no earlier than Tuesday, April 19, pending completion of program reviews expected early next week to formalize the new target.

Credit: NASA

According to the space agency, this will "allow appropriate spacing for operations and post-flight data reviews between human spaceflight missions and to allow for multiple consecutive launch attempts based on the orbital mechanics for arrival to the space station."

Program reviews are expected to be completed early next week.

Crew-4 will carry an international crew of four astronauts to the orbital complex on a new Dragon spacecraft and flight proven Falcon 9 rocket for a science expedition mission. The team consists of Pilot Robert Hines, Mission Specialists Samantha Cristoforetti and Jessica Watkins, and Commander Kjell Lindgren. Hines, Watkins, and Lindgren are NASA astronauts and Cristoforetti is a European Space Agency astronaut.

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