NASA and SpaceX say the Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station is delayed, as they look into a leak aboard the Dragon capsule.
Mission managers say it all has to do with the capsule’s propulsion system, and the leak was found during prelaunch processing.
The mission includes NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov.
Mission managers say the crew will conduct research aimed at fighting heart disease and Parkinson’s disease. They’re expected to use stem – cell derived tissues for their research, along with studying crop production for long-duration spaceflight and testing new diagnostic medical equipment.
The flight was originally expected to launch September 12th, but is now pushed back, and mission managers say a new date will be announced once available.
Crew-13 will use a Dragon Spacecraft aboard a Falcon 9 Rocket, and will lift off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.