The International Space Station is prepping for a few busy days as NASA and SpaceX are getting ready to launch one and return for another. Four SpaceX Crew-3 astronauts were slated to go to the ISS, but poor weather derailed those plans.

It was later set for November 3 launch but got postponed again as one of the crew members experienced a minor medical issue. The launch will now happen on November 8. But with the current Crew-2 astronauts getting ready to return to Earth after 6 months, NASA and SpaceX are now considering delaying the Crew-3 launch again and focusing on bringing back the Crew-2 astronauts.

Weather to decide the fate of launch

The decision hasn’t been made yet and it mostly depends on the weather conditions for both the launch and recovery. “The earliest possible opportunity for Crew-2 undocking from the space station is at 1:05 p.m. ET on Sunday, November 7, to begin the return trip to Earth for splashdown off the coast of Florida,” NASA said.

“If mission teams do not pursue Crew-2 return on Sunday, November 7 or Monday, November 8,” NASA said. The space agency said that mission teams will take the final decision on whether to prioritize Crew-3’s launch and return of the Crew-2 capsule “in the coming days based on the likelihood of favorable conditions for a Crew Dragon splashdown or Crew Dragon launch,” adding that the teams are also “reviewing the time needed between launch or return operations.”

Goal is to move forward with plans

“These are dynamic and complex decisions that change day by day. The weather in November can be especially challenging, so our goal is to move forward on the plan with the highest probability of mission assurance and crew safety,” said Steve Stich, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manager.

Besides, NASA has also announced that it will be launching missions to the Moon in early 2022. This will be the uncrewed Artemis I mission that will be launched in February 2022. The space agency finished stacking its Orion spacecraft on the Space Launch System recently.