NASA sets new plan to launch WA astronaut’s flight into space after delays

The flight that will carry NASA astronaut and Washington native Kayla Barron to the International Space Station is being delayed yet again, this time so NASA can focus on bringing the crew now at the station back to Earth.

SpaceX Crew-2 could leave for Earth as soon as Sunday and splash down on Monday morning.

That leaves the launch for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-3 mission with Barron, who is from Richland, no sooner than 9:03 p.m. EST Wednesday Nov. 10.

That would be 6:03 p.m. PST Wednesday for those watching the launch online from the Tri-Cities on NASA TV at nasa.gov, if it is scheduled then.

The crew would dock at the space station around 4:10 p.m. Thursday Nov. 11.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon capsule Endurance on top for Barron and three other astronauts remains in place at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the flight.

NASA officials have spent the last several days looking at weather and considering whether to prioritize sending Crew-3 to the space station or bringing Crew-2 home first.

The Crew Dragon capsule that is now docked at the space station was designed to spend 210 days aloft and was at 197 days Saturday, according to The Associated Press.

However, additional analysis could extend the time it could safely stay in space, NASA said.

Weather could remain a factor for when Barron’s flight could launch.

“The weather in November can be especially challenging, so our goal is to move forward on the plan with the highest probability of mission assurance and crew safety,” said said Steve Stich, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manager, as plans were being made for both crews.

The initial planned launch of Barron’s flight on Halloween was scrapped due to bad weather. Then a second launch planned for early morning Wednesday Nov. 3 was postponed when one of the Crew-3 astronauts developed a minor medical issue.

NASA did not identify the crew member and did not discuss the medical issue beyond saying it was not COVID-19.

NASA said Thursday that it continues to monitor the medial issue and expects it to clear prior to launch.

Barron, a graduate of Richland High and the daughter of Lauri and Scott Sax of Richland, Wash., has been picked to spend six months aboard the International Space Station as a mission specialist, living and doing research as part of what is planned to be a seven-member crew.

She is part of the SpaceX Crew-3 that includes NASA mission commander Raja Chari and NASA pilot Tom Marshburn. Also launching with them will be mission specialist Matthias Maurer of Germany with the European Space Agency.

This is the third crew rotation mission with astronauts on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and the fourth flight with astronauts, including the Demo-2 test flight, as part of the NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

If Crew-2 comes home before Crew-3 arrives, there will still be one American and two Russian astronauts on board the space station.

This story was originally published November 6, 2021 at 1:51 PM with the headline "NASA sets new plan to launch WA astronaut’s flight into space after delays."