A Dragon awaits

A timelapse of Launchpad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, where the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule Endurance sits atop a Falcon 9 rocket, ready to carry Crew-3 to the International Space Station.

Initially scheduled for launch on 31 October 2021, this Dragon will wait a bit longer due to weather along the flight path and a minor medical issue affecting a member of its crew. The next launch attempt is now no earlier than 03:36 GMT/04:36 CET, Sunday, 7 November.

When it does fly, it will transport ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer, as a member of Crew-3 alongside NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn and Kayla Barron, to his new home in space. Matthias's arrival to the International Space Station will mark the start of ESA’s six-month long Cosmic Kiss mission, where he will support over 35 European and many more international experiments in orbit.

Cosmic Kiss is Matthias’s first space mission. Follow his journey via the Cosmic Kiss mission page as well as regular updates on his Twitter, Facebook and Instagram channels.