Due to bad weather: The flight to the International Space Station has been postponed again

NASA has once again postponed the trip to the International Space Station (ISS) with German astronaut Matthias Maurer. The reason is bad weather. But NASA has other problems, too.

German astronaut Matthias Maurer’s launch to the International Space Station (ISS) has been postponed again. NASA announced that the 51-year-old Saarlander will start on Monday at the earliest with three of her NASA colleagues from Cape Canaveral Spaceport in the US state of Florida. A final decision must be made in the coming days.

There are several things to consider when planning for NASA: On the other hand, weather conditions do not look good for a possible start on Saturday and Sunday. NASA said that even if the weather could initially continue on Monday, it’s not clear yet.

The International Space Station is still occupied

In addition, a “minor medical issue” will continue to be observed with a crew member, due to which the start has already been postponed. And third, there is a crew on the International Space Station that is supposed to return to Earth soon. It remains to be determined whether the return of “Crew-2” or the start of “Crew-3” should take priority, according to NASA.

These are dynamic and complex decisions that can change every day, said Steve Stitch, NASA administrator: “November weather can be particularly challenging, so our goal is to achieve the highest potential for mission safety and crew protection ahead.”

It has been postponed several times

The start has been postponed several times previously. The last time it was scheduled was Sunday morning. The missile launch was originally scheduled for October 30. By this time, NASA had given the reason for the bad weather. Then there was a medical problem for one of the crew members.

For the first time in three years, a German astronaut is supposed to fly into space with Maurer. In collaboration with NASA colleagues Thomas Marshbourne, Raja Chari and Kayla Barron, it will blast off from Cape Canaveral Spaceport in Florida to the International Space Station. The four astronauts will be flown by “Crew Dragon” from Elon Musk’s private space company SpaceX.