Due to tropical storm Helene, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that it has decided to postpone the launch of the spacecraft carrying the 9th crew to the International Space Station (ISS) until September 28.
The Dragon spacecraft of the American space exploration company SpaceX was originally scheduled to carry the Crew-9 crew to the ISS after August 18, but was delayed by a month due to problems related to the Boeing Starliner spacecraft. The Starliner is still docked at the ISS.
Hurricane Helene is moving through the Gulf of Mexico and is expected to impact northwest Florida. The storm is also forecast to bring heavy rain and strong winds to Cape Canaveral, where the Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to launch.
SpaceX's spacecraft is expected to carry three American astronauts and one Russian cosmonaut to the ISS. This will be the ninth rotating crew to the ISS since 2020, when NASA astronauts were first brought to the space station.