Originally slated to liftoff today, SpaceX’s CRS-21 mission for NASA is now targeting Sunday, December 6, at 11:17 a.m. EST.
CRS-21 is the first of six flights awarded to SpaceX by NASA in the Phase 2 Commercial Resupply Services contract to send cargo to the International Space Station. SpaceX was awarded this contract back in 2016 alongside Orbital ATK (now Northrop Grumman) and Sierra Nevada Corporation.
SpaceX announced the schedule change this morning, citing “poor weather in the recovery area” as the reason for the scrub. We’ve recently seen this happen lately as SpaceX has become more reliant on their existing fleet of flight proven boosters to fly their missions. This booster is a rather special one, flying Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley earlier this year and featured the striking NASA Worm logo on one side of the first stage. CRS-21 will be this booster’s 4th flight and the first flight of the new Dragon 2 capsule.
Due to poor weather in the recovery area for today’s attempt, now targeting Sunday, December 6 at 11:17 a.m. EST for launch of CRS-21
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 5, 2020
Previous CRS missions from SpaceX have featured the epic return to launch site (RTLS) landings. With the new Dragon 2 capsule, SpaceX has opted for a trajectory similar to crewed Dragon flights. The droneship Of Course I Still Love You is stationed just off the coast of South Carolina to support the landing when weather starts cooperating.
