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German astronaut's ISS launch delayed by poor weather

October 30, 2021

Matthias Maurer is set to be the first German in space in three years, but he will have to wait for three more days to get there. The Crew-3 mission will be in orbit for six months.

https://p.dw.com/p/42NAo
ESA Astronaut Matthias Maurer
Matthias Maurer will go on his very first trip to spaceImage: Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa/picture alliance

US space agency NASA said on Saturday that it would postpone its SpaceX mission to the International Space Station (ISS) from Sunday to Wednesday due to bad weather at the launch site in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

NASA said the launch was moved to Wednesday "due to a large storm system elevating winds and waves in the Atlantic Ocean along the Crew Dragon flight path for the Oct. 31 launch attempt."

German astronaut Matthias Maurer is scheduled to fly on the mission. The 51-year-old is set to be the first German in space in three years and the 12th German astronaut in space.

"I'm looking forward to traveling round the world every 90 minutes, with a fantastic view of the Earth. I'm really looking forward to watching our planet from up there," Maurer told DW earlier this week.

Maurer will fly to space along with NASA astronauts Thomas Marshburn, Raja Chari and Kayla Barron, aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft named Endurance, fixed atop a Falcon 9 rocket. Endurance will autonomously dock with the ISS after 22 hours of flight.

Three of the four astronauts, including Maurer, will be on their first trip to space.

The Crew-3 mission will launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida
The Crew-3 astronauts are expected to carry out spacewalks to help complete the upgrade of the ISS solar panelsImage: SpaceX/UPI Photo/Newscom/picture alliance

Six-month mission

The mission, titled Crew-3, will last six months. The astronauts plan to conduct research in areas including material sciences, health, and botany, to help inform future deep space exploration and benefit life on Earth.

Among the research is an experiment to grow plants in space without soil or other growth media. The astronauts will also try to build optical fibers in microgravity, which prior research has suggested will be superior in quality to those made on Earth.

Maurer plans to help prepare the European Robotic Arm which is currently being installed on the Russian side of the ISS. He will also test out CIMON, an artificial intelligence assistant developed by the German space agency DLR, Airbus and IBM.

"It's an experiment which is really paving the way toward exploration," Maurer said.

The Crew-3 astronauts are expected to carry out spacewalks to help complete the upgrade of the station's solar panels. They will also be present for two tourist missions, one aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft at the end of 2021, and another by Space-X Axiom crew, set for launch in February 2022.

jcg/sri (dpa, AFP)