(Update: Launched) NASA's SpaceX Crew-5 Launch Readiness concludes; weather favourable for Wednesday liftoff

NASA and SpaceX have concluded Launch Readiness Review for the upcoming Crew-5 mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The mission is scheduled to liftoff from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A in Florida, at noon EDT Wednesday, October 5.

Meanwhile, weather officials with Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's 45th Weather Squadron predict a 90% chance of favourable weather conditions for the Crew-5 launch from LC-39A.

SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, named Endurance, will carry two NASA astronauts - Mission Commander Nicole Aunapu Mann and Pilot Josh Cassada. They will ride along with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Koichi Wakata and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina, who will serve as mission specialists, to the International Space Station.

The quartet will dock to the forward port of the Harmony module 29 hours after launch to begin their station mission. During their stay aboard the station, the crew will conduct over 200 science experiments and technology demonstrations in areas such as human health and lunar fuel systems.

The Dragon spacecraft supporting this mission previously flew Crew-3 to and from the space station. Following stage separation, the Falcon 9's first stage will land on the Just Read the Instructions droneship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

All systems are looking good for launch of the Crew-5 mission on Wednesday, October 5 → https://t.co/k09m3qyfv5 pic.twitter.com/2Uskp0Efha

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 3, 2022

Teams @NASA and @SpaceX have completed the Launch Readiness Review for the upcoming #Crew5 launch. Scheduled for Oct. 5 at 12pm EDT, the crew will launch from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A and head to the @Space_Station for a 6-month science mission. https://t.co/fCMVmvKhif pic.twitter.com/we9L6rViTQ

— NASA Commercial Crew (@Commercial_Crew) October 4, 2022

Back onboard the orbiting lab, four crew members are gearing up to conclude their mission and return to Earth just, a few days after the arrival of NASA's SpaceX Crew-5 astronauts.

NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, and Jessica Watkins, with ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti have been living on the space station since April 27, 2022. The homebound astronauts will help their Crew-5 replacements adjust to life on the station and then undock inside the SpaceX Dragon Freedom crew ship and parachute to a splashdown off the coast of Florida.

Update

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, with the Dragon Endurance atop, lifted off from Kennedy's Launch Complex 39A at noon EDT. The Crew-5 mission marks the first spaceflight for Mann, Cassada, and Kikina, and the fifth for Wakata. The crew will stay up to six months aboard the space station before returning to Earth in the spring of 2023.