CAPE CANAVERAL, United States: SpaceX’s space mission launch to carry four astronauts from different nations to the International Space Station (ISS) has been delayed for one day, and will now blast off today (Thursday).
SpaceX in a statement said that the additional time allows teams to complete pre-launch checkouts and data analysis on the vehicle.
Four astronauts from Türkiye, Spain, Italy, and Sweden will conduct over 30 scientific experiments and demonstrations at the International Space Station as part of the Ax3 mission.
The mission was originally scheduled for January 9, but due to severe weather, it was postponed to January 17.
The launch will be carried out by SpaceX in Florida with its Falcon9 rocket.
Now targeting Thursday, January 18 for launch of the Ax-3 mission to the @space_station. The additional time allows teams to complete pre-launch checkouts and data analysis on the vehicle → https://t.co/bJFjLCiTbK pic.twitter.com/ZL8664RN7D
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) January 17, 2024
Meanwhile, Turkish Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacir said on X, formerly twitter that the targeted launch time is January 19, 2024 at 00.49 Turkish time (2149GMT).
He added Türkiye will continue to wait with excitement for its astronaut Col. Alper Gezeravci to successfully accomplish this historic mission.
İlk astronotumuz Alper Gezeravcı’nın da yer alacağı fırlatma ertelendi.
Hedeflenen fırlatma zamanı:
19 Ocak 2024 00:49 (Türkiye saati ile)Bu sürede fırlatma öncesi teknik kontrollerin tamamlanması planlanıyor.
Astronotumuz Alper Gezeravcı’nın bu tarihi misyonu başarıyla… https://t.co/TxKmFAHeFp
— Mehmet Fatih KACIR (@mfatihkacir) January 17, 2024
