Skip to main content

NASA eyes weather for SpaceX’s Crew-3 launch. Here’s how it’s looking

NASA and SpaceX are about to send another four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS), but calm and stable weather conditions are needed if the rocket is to launch at the scheduled time.

Two days before lift-off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and the forecast is looking good, according to the U.S. Space Force 45th Weather Squadron, which keeps NASA abreast of such data.

The crack team of weather watchers said that according to the expected conditions, there’s an 80% chance that SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will be able to launch on time at 2:21 a.m. ET on Sunday morning.

Currently, rainy conditions are pushing across Florida’s Space Coast, but the squadron said that as the front begins to move away, “drier conditions will filter in, leading to favorable launch conditions for the initial launch opportunity.”

The weather along the flight path also has to be stable at launch, and there are currently no reports of any concerns. This is important because should the rocket suffer a serious anomaly during the early stages of flight, the astronauts will have to abort from the rocket for a parachute-assisted landing inside the Crew Dragon spacecraft, with rough weather conditions possibly jeopardizing a safe water landing or recovery effort.

Finally, conditions off the Florida coast need to be calm, too, so that SpaceX’s waiting drone ship can catch the first-stage Falcon 9 booster when it returns to Earth shortly after launch.

If Sunday’s launch is called off for weather- or technical-related reasons, the next launch window opens early on Wednesday, November 1.

On Thursday night, the Crew-3 astronauts — NASA’s Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, and Kayla Barron, plus Matthias Maurer from the European Space Agency — took part in countdown rehearsal as part of preparations for Sunday’s rocket ride. Chari, Barron, and Maurer are heading to space for the first time, with Marshburn taking his third flight.

Interested in watching SpaceX’s rocket light up the night sky early on Sunday? Digital Trends has all the information you need to watch NASA’s livestream.

Editors' Recommendations

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
SpaceX says it could fly Starship on Friday, but it depends on one thing
The Starship, comprising the first-stage Super Heavy and the upper-stage Starship spacecraft, on the launchpad at SpaceX's facility in Boca Chica, Texas.

SpaceX has said it could be in a position to perform the second launch of its next-generation Starship rocket this Friday, though it added that it can only happen once it’s received the nod from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

“Starship preparing to launch as early as November 17, pending final regulatory approval," SpaceX said in a recent post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Read more
How to watch SpaceX deliver cargo and experiments to the ISS this week
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Dragon capsule soars upward after lifting off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 14, 2022, on the company’s 25th Commercial Resupply Services mission for the agency to the International Space Station. Liftoff was at 8:44 p.m. EDT. Dragon will deliver more than 5,800 pounds of cargo, including a variety of NASA investigations, to the space station. The spacecraft is expected to spend about a month attached to the orbiting outpost before it returns to Earth with research and return cargo, splashing down off the coast of Florida.

This week will see a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft blast off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida and head for the International Space Station (ISS) to deliver supplies and research to the crew there. The launch is scheduled for this Thursday, November 9, after having been rescheduled from earlier in the week to allow time for additional prelaunch checks.

If you'd like to watch the launch and docking of the SpaceX Dragon, NASA will be live-streaming those two events via its NASA TV channel, and we have the details on how to watch below.
What to expect from the launch
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Dragon capsule soars upward after lifting off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 14, 2022, on the company’s 25th Commercial Resupply Services mission for the agency to the International Space Station. Another such launch is scheduled for November 9. NASA/Kim Shiflett

Read more
Watch this unique view of SpaceX’s latest Starship rocket test
SpaceX tests its Starship rocket in a ground-based ignition.

As SpaceX continues to wait for the green light from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the second test flight of its mighty Super Heavy rocket, the company recently conducted a ground-based test fire of the rocket’s upper stage, called Starship.

SpaceX posted footage showing the brief test fire from directly above (bottom video), with one of the Starship’s six Raptor engines powering up for about six seconds.

Read more