MOSCOW, 29 Feb.The launch of the Crew Dragon spacecraft with the international crew Crew 8 to the International Space Station (ISS) is scheduled for the morning of March 3, Moscow time (evening of March 2, local time), NASA reported.
«»NASA and SpaceX are now targeting the launch of Crew 8 to the ISS no earlier than 11:16 p.m. East Coast time on March 2 (7:16 a.m. Moscow time on March 3) due to unfavorable weather conditions,” the U.S. space agency said.
The crew, which will remain in orbit for about six months, includes American astronauts Matthew Dominic, Michael Barratt, Jeanette Epps, and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin. It was previously reported that the launch would take place on February 22, but then it was postponed to February 28.
The flight of a Russian cosmonaut on board an American spacecraft takes place within the framework of an agreement between the United States and the Russian Federation on cross-flights to the ISS. The agreement concluded between Roscosmos and NASA stipulates that the crew of the Russian spacecraft will send one American astronaut to the ISS, and the crew of the American spacecraft will include one Russian cosmonaut.
The first such flight was the flight of Soyuz MS-22 with Frank Rubio crewed, the mission launched to the ISS in September 2022. A couple of weeks later, Anna Kikina went to the ISS on Crew Dragon. In March 2023, Andrei Fedyaev arrived at the ISS on Crew Dragon (mission Crew-6), who was replaced by Konstantin Borisov. Earlier, Roscosmos reported that the cross-flight program from NASA to the ISS has been extended until 2025 inclusive.