SCRUBBED: SpaceX, NASA Stand Down From Wednesday’s Crew-10 Launch at Kennedy Space Center
By Space Coast Daily // March 12, 2025
Coverage of the launch can be seen on Space Coast Daily TV
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – SpaceX and NASA are standing down from Wednesday’s Falcon 9’s launch of Dragon’s 10th operational human spaceflight mission (Crew-10) to the International Space Station from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
There is a backup opportunity available on Thursday, March 13 at 7:26 p.m. ET.
SpaceX’s live webcast of this mission will begin about one hour and 20 minutes prior to liftoff, which you can watch here and on X @SpaceX. You can also watch the webcast on the new X TV app.
The Dragon spacecraft supporting this mission previously flew NASA’s Crew-3, Crew-5, and Crew-7 missions to and from the space station. This will be the second flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched the SES 03b mPOWER-e mission. Following stage separation, Falcon 9’s first stage will land on Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
During their time on the orbiting laboratory, the crew will conduct new research to prepare for human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit and to benefit humanity on Earth.
The crew will travel aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft “Endurance” (serial number C210), which is making its fourth flight. Endurance previously supported the Crew-3, Crew-5, and Crew-7 missions.
Originally, Crew-10 was to debut a new Crew Dragon capsule. However, to expedite the mission and facilitate the timely return of current ISS astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams, NASA and SpaceX opted to reuse “Endurance.”
This decision advanced the launch schedule, allowing Wilmore and Williams, who have been on the ISS since June 2024 due to technical issues with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft and, some say, political reasons, to return to Earth sooner.
The Crew-10 team, consisting of NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, will travel to the ISS aboard SpaceX’s Dragon capsule, Endurance.
This spacecraft, already proven on previous missions, was selected after delays in constructing a new Crew Dragon due to battery-related issues.
Upon Crew-10’s arrival, Wilmore and Williams will board the Crew-9 Dragon capsule alongside NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov for their long-awaited journey back to Earth. This transition is expected to take place swiftly, with Crew-10 overlapping with Crew-9 for only a few days.
Reflecting on the significance of international collaboration in space exploration, McClain highlighted the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Apollo-Soyuz mission, emphasizing the importance of global partnerships in space endeavors.
As the ISS transitions from Expedition 72 to Expedition 73, Williams has officially passed command to cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin, who will later hand over the role to Onishi after Crew-10’s arrival.
