NASA and Space X already have their third joint manned mission to space ready: this time, the idea is that the four astronauts in charge of reaching the International Space Station travel with a recycled capsule and rocket from the company founded by Elon Musk.
The takeoff is scheduled for this Friday at 5:49 am, Eastern Time, as scheduled by NASA.
[Two NASA astronauts enter the International Space Station after traveling with a SpaceX spacecraft]
In principle, the departure was expected for Thursday, but it was decided to delay it due to bad weather at sea.
This is because SpaceX's Dragon capsule requires calm waves and winds in case an emergency landing is needed during ascent into orbit.
The weather forecast for Friday is much better, according to authorities.
The four astronauts that make up the mission represent the United States (two of them), France and Japan.
"Our friends from the Space Station are waiting for us and we don't want to be late," tweeted French astronaut Thomas Pesquet.
“They even recently installed my room and literally made my bed.
What good hosts! ”, He added.
For the first time, Elon Musk's company is launching astronauts with a capsule and rocket that they have previously flown, just as it does with the station's supply tours.
The capsule in which the crew will travel was already used last May for SpaceX's first manned mission.
The rocket, instead, was used for the second manned mission, in November.
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The mission will be led by NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough.
He and his crew will spend six months on the Space Station: they will replace four astronauts who are now there and who will return next Wednesday in their own SpaceX capsule.
They are expected to parachute into the Gulf of Mexico near Tallahassee, Florida.
To celebrate Earth Day, Kimbrough tweeted a photo of the beach taken at sunrise from NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Thursday.
"An amazing way to appreciate our planet this morning!" He said.
In addition to Kimbrough and Pesquet, the crew includes Megan McArthur, also from NASA, and Akihiko Hoshide from Japan.
With information from AP.
