SpaceX rocket is set to launch with four astronauts on board - but the weather rattles Elon Musk mission

Elon Musk's space company SpaceX is back, NASA is "extremely proud" - but the manned flight into space is delayed.

• The US company

  SpaceX

  of Tesla founder Elon Musk * sends a

  manned rocket

  into

  space

  .

• At the end of May, SpaceX successfully sent

  two US astronauts

  on a

  two-month mission

  to the

  ISS

  for

  the first time

  .

• The launch of the

  Falcon 9 rocket

  with the "

  Crew Dragon" capsule has been

  delayed.

• With this mission, a new space shuttle era begins in the USA.

Update from November 14th, 9:53 a.m

.: The

is

space explorers: The launch of a

to the International Space Station

planned for this Saturday

delayed due to

, said

the US space agency

with.

The rocket is now scheduled to start on Sunday evening

from the Kennedy Space Center.

There

will be three NASA astronauts and one Japanese

on board the

capsule

.

Six months after its historic flight to the ISS, the

from Tesla founder

*

wants

to send a manned rocket into space for the first time on a six-month routine mission.

On Saturday, Musk tweeted a photo of the rocket with the caption "soon":

Soon pic.twitter.com/mWOpR7W8kk

- Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 13, 2020

SpaceX rocket launches for the ISS on Saturday - this time four astronauts are on board

Original notification from November 13th

: Cape Canaveral - Six months after its historic flight to the International Space

, the US company

from

officially

sending

a manned rocket into space for the first time on a six-month routine mission.

The capsule "Crew Dragon" will take off on Saturday evening (local time) from the spaceport Kennedy Space Center in the direction of the ISS, announced the US space agency NASA.

The three NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker as well as the Japanese Soichi Noguchi will be on board.

NASA declared the Crew Dragon capsule safe on Tuesday.

"I am extremely proud to say that we are returning to a regular manned space flight with an American rocket and an American spaceship that takes off from American soil," said NASA chief

.

In the NASA press release, Bridenstine speaks of a milestone and an incredible achievement by

and

.

The “Crew Dragon” capsule as well as the Falcon 9 rocket and the associated ground systems are therefore the first new spacecraft system that has been

certified by NASA for regular flights with astronauts

since the

almost 40 years ago.

+

Cape Canaveral: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule is rolled into Launch Complex 39A.

© Joel Kowsky / NASA / dpa

SpaceX mission to the ISS - NASA confirms launch of "Crew Dragon" capsule

The mission is scheduled to start on Saturday at

(Sunday 01.49 p.m. CET).

Eight hours later, the spaceship should reach its destination.

The four astronauts will then stay on the

for six months

.

SpaceX's director of manned space flights, Benji Reed, said Tuesday his company would organize a total of seven manned or cargo missions for NASA over the next 15 months.

From December onwards there will be a "constant presence of SpaceX 'Dragons' in orbit".

LIVE: Join mission managers for the latest update on NASA's @SpaceX Crew-1 mission to the @Space_Station.

Today's Flight Readiness Review has officially concluded, and we are go to #LaunchAmerica on Nov. 14.

Listen in ➡️ https://t.co/f1K1MFXFRn pic.twitter.com/atnSy2FxOY

- NASA (@NASA) November 10, 2020

Mission SpaceX - New space era dawns in the USA

In the past few years,

relied on Russian rockets to get to the

.

The

had its space shuttle program due to high costs and after

set nine years ago.

The last mission of the space shuttle “Atlantis” ended on July 21, 2011. Since then, Russia has brought US astronauts into space for around 80 million euros per flight.

NASA space shuttles

• Atlantis

• Endeavor

• Discovery

• Challenger - crashed - Shortly after takeoff on January 28, 1986, the space shuttle exploded.

  All seven crew members were killed.

• Columbia - accident - The space shuttle broke apart on February 1, 2003 during its 28th space mission (mission STS-107) when re-entering the earth's atmosphere.

  All seven crew members were killed.

SpaceX takes off for the ISS - will the company become the market leader in the USA?

In order to regain independence from

, the US government under Donald Trump's predecessor Barack Obama commissioned

and the aviation giant Boeing to build space shuttles.

The “Starliner” capsule from Boeing is still in the test phase and, as expected, will not be ready before next year.

+

SpaceX Crew: NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins speaks to the media ahead of his mission to the ISS.

© Joel KOWSKY / NASA / AFP

For

, the space flight, which

on Saturday, is therefore also an opportunity to position itself as the US market leader in space travel.

At the end of May 2020, the company successfully sent two US astronauts on a two-month mission to the

for

the first time

.

SpaceX: Historic moment - mission into space to the ISS successful

On May 31, 2020, a US spacecraft docked with the international space station for the first time in nine years.

Millions of people followed the rocket launch live on TV or on the Internet until it docked on the ISS.

During the live recordings from the SpaceX space capsule "Dragon2", a dinosaur flew through the picture.

After two months, the astronauts returned safely to Earth (August 2nd).

Musk celebrated the successful mission as the new era of space flight and space exploration.