The NASA/SpaceX Crew-8 mission is ready to take off just after midnight on Friday. Everything is going as planned, but there are worries about the weather. If the weather is bad, the spacecraft won’t fly.
Steve Stich, NASA’s program manager, said they are closely watching the weather. Especially along the East Coast, it’s important for the weather to be good for the mission to go ahead. But so far, the weather doesn’t look very promising.
This mission is the ninth one for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program with SpaceX. The crew will take scientific experiments to the International Space Station. They’re studying what space does to the human body, like how zero gravity affects astronauts’ eyesight.
Kristin Fabre from NASA’s Human Research Program spoke about their work. She said because of their previous findings, they now have strategies to tackle these issues to test out on this mission.
Crew Dragon Endeavour is on its fifth mission. The plan was for Crew-8 to be its last, but SpaceX is discussing extending its use for more flights.
The crew of four arrived at the Kennedy Space Center on Sunday and is now in quarantine. The Crew-8 is led by Matthew Dominick, a Navy test pilot on his first space mission. He is joined by experienced astronaut, Dr. Michael Barratt, NASA specialist Jeanette Epps, and Russian Alexander Grebenkin.
If everything goes well, the Crew Dragon Endeavour will connect with the International Space Station on Saturday morning.
Vocabulary List:
- Take off (phrasal verb): To leave the ground and begin to fly the beginning of a journey.
- Mission (noun): A special duty or task given to someone.
- Worries (noun): An uneasy feeling about something with an uncertain outcome.
- Spacecraft (noun): A vehicle used for traveling in outer space.
- Promising (adjective): Showing signs of future success or excellence.
- Commercial (adjective): Related to buying and selling goods and services.
