Crew-5 Forecast Looks to Be a “Go” For Launch Wednesday

5 Oct 2022, 9:40 am

The next round of crew members, including two American astronauts, are set to launch to the International Space Station on Wednesday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The plan to go through with the launch was in question over the weekend as NASA assessed damage from Hurricane Ian, which brought heavy rain, storm surge, and gusty winds to the area late last week.

Crew members will be riding in the Dragon Spacecraft launched with the Falcon 9 rocket.

Weather conditions are near optimal for launch, with a less than 10% chance of violating weather conditions are the open of the launch window at noon EDT. Winds at the surface will be a bit breezy out of the northeast around 10 mph.

Our forecast model shows a chance for some cloud cover but they are not expected to be cumulus clouds, which can delay or stall launches.

In the rare event the launch is delayed, weather conditions appear clear into the weekend.

About the author

Rob Bradley

Rob grew up in South Florida, where daily afternoon storms and hurricanes piqued his interest in meteorology early on. That interest was fostered by his teachers and his father, who one time brought him onto the roof of their home to watch a funnel cloud move through the Everglades several miles away. ... Load MoreYears of filmmaking and tv production in high school gradually pushed him toward broadcast meteorology at Florida State University, where he joined and eventually led the student run daily weather show. After graduating with a Bachelors of Science in Meteorology, he began his career at KESQ in Palm Springs, California before heading to KFSN in Fresno and WLOS in Asheville, North Carolina. He has covered a diverse array of extreme weather events, including haboobs and flash flooding in the desert, extreme snow in the Sierra, hurricanes, and Appalachian ice storms. He also enjoys telling stories and reporting about weather issues. Connect with Rob on Twitter