(Updated) NASA's SpaceX Crew-5 mission to International Space Station deferred due to Hurricane Ian

NASA's SpaceX Crew-5 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) has been deferred due to Hurricane Ian. The mission is now scheduled to launch no earlier than 12:23 p.m. EDT Tuesday, October 4, with a backup opportunity on Wednesday, Oct. 5.

The Crew-5 astronauts will fly to the space station in SpaceX's Dragon Endurance, on the company's Falcon 9 rocket, from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy.

After the storm progresses, the mission teams will evaluate the potential impacts to the center and determine whether to adjust the mission timeline further.

"Mission teams will continue to monitor the impacts of Ian on the Space Coast and NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida and could adjust the launch date again, as necessary. The safety of the crew, ground teams, and hardware are of the utmost importance to NASA and SpaceX," the agency said in a statement on Tuesday.

NASA's @SpaceX #Crew5 mission to the @Space_Station is now scheduled to launch no earlier than Tuesday, Oct. 4, as we continue to monitor the impacts of Hurricane Ian. Follow our Crew-5 blog for the latest mission updates: https://t.co/3yDKJ24Pew pic.twitter.com/gJxMEAD7gH

— NASA (@NASA) September 27, 2022

With this, the undocking of NASA's SpaceX Crew-4 mission from the space station will also move day-for-day along with the Crew-5 launch date to allow a planned five-day direct handover with Crew-5, the agency said.

The fifth crew rotation mission will carry NASA astronauts Nicole Aunapu Mann and Josh Cassada, who will serve as mission commander and pilot, respectively, along with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Koichi Wakata, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina, who will serve as mission specialists.

Update 1

NASA and SpaceX are now targeting Wednesday, October 5, for the launch of the Crew-5 mission to the space station.