SpaceX Crew-11 Launch Delayed Due to Weather Conditions

The scheduled launch of SpaceX’s Crew-11 mission for NASA was called off just over a minute before liftoff, as a band of cumulus clouds appeared over the Kennedy Space Center.

Launch officials cited safety concerns linked to the weather, which involved clouds moving toward the launch pad within a 10-mile radius. The presence of these tall, dark clouds posed a risk, as passing through such clouds could generate dangerous energy from the rocket.

dark clouds in the sky above a white rocket upright on a launch pad

The Crew-11 Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft await launch, but the attempt was scrubbed due to adverse weather conditions.

The next opportunities for launch are scheduled for August 1 at 11:43 a.m. EDT and August 2 at 11:21 a.m. EDT, pending favorable weather conditions.

When launched, the mission will feature a Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft, now on its sixth flight—setting a reuse record for Crew Dragon vehicles. The crew comprises four astronauts: NASA’s Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Kimiya Yui from JAXA, and Oleg Platonov from Roscosmos. They will head to the International Space Station, orbiting approximately 248 miles above Earth at about 17,500 mph.

This mission marks SpaceX’s eleventh operational crewed flight under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which coordinates transportation of astronauts to and from the ISS using private spacecraft.