SpaceX Crew-11 Launch Scrubbed by Weather, Giving Astronauts a Longer Wait for Their Long-Awaited Flight

The anticipation for SpaceX’s Crew-11 mission to the International Space Station came to a sudden pause Thursday, as weather forced a last-minute scrub just 67 seconds before liftoff. The mission, carrying four astronauts aboard the Crew Dragon Endeavour, is now set to try again Friday morning, weather permitting.

Originally scheduled for 12:09 p.m. ET from Kennedy Space Center’s historic pad 39A, the launch was called off due to a cumulus cloud formation drifting over the pad, violating strict weather safety rules. The abort came as the Falcon 9 rocket sat ready for liftoff, timed to align perfectly with the ISS’s orbit.

“Hold, hold, hold, we are standing down for a violation of weather rules,” a SpaceX controller announced. Moments later, the crew heard a more human touch: “Bad luck on weather there… we just got clipped by a cumulus cloud.”

Commander Zena Cardman responded calmly from inside Dragon Endeavour:
“Too bad. But we’ll be ready next time.”

A Crew That’s Been Waiting a Long Time

Crew-11’s lineup reflects the winding road of modern spaceflight:

• Zena Cardman (NASA, Commander) – A first-time flyer and scientist, bumped from last year’s Crew-9 mission to make way for Starliner astronauts.
• Michael Fincke (NASA, Pilot) – A three-flight veteran and former Starliner trainee who hasn’t flown since 2011.
• Kimiya Yui (JAXA, Mission Specialist) – A Japanese astronaut reassigned from Boeing’s delayed program to SpaceX.
• Oleg Platonov (Roscosmos, Mission Specialist) – A rookie cosmonaut flying under the U.S.-Russia crew swap agreement.

Their journey to orbit has been shaped by Boeing’s Starliner delays. Cardman and her crewmates were shuffled from previous assignments to help NASA manage its troubled spacecraft schedule. Cardman, who lost her father last year during her unexpected mission change, will finally carry personal mementos he sent to space for her last planned flight, making her upcoming birthday aboard the ISS in October especially meaningful.

What Happens Next

The next launch opportunity is Friday at 11:43 a.m. ET, which would lead to docking with the ISS around 3 a.m. Saturday if weather cooperates. But conditions could worsen slightly, with concerns about high winds and ocean waves along the emergency splashdown corridor.

Once launched, Endeavour will spend about 16 hours catching up to the ISS, looping under and over the orbital lab before docking at the Harmony module’s forward port. On board, the Crew-11 astronauts will join seven current residents, including Crew-10 commander Anne McClain and Soyuz crew members, who are preparing to depart in early August after a 145-day mission.

Crew-11’s stay is officially six months, but NASA is considering extensions to seven or eight months to align with Russia’s new eight-month rotations and cope with proposed ISS budget cuts. Such changes could mean fewer crew members and missions in the future, saving money but limiting research aboard the orbiting lab.

The Big Picture

The scrubbed launch is a reminder of spaceflight’s delicate balance between precision and patience. Crew-11 is part of the final years of the ISS program, expected to retire in 2030, with SpaceX’s Crew Dragon playing a critical role in both ferrying astronauts and testing station reboost capabilities for future deorbit planning.

If weather clears for Friday, four astronauts who have waited through Starliner setbacks, personal sacrifices, and one very unlucky cloud will finally get their chance to soar. As Cardman put it, “Life is a journey. It takes many turns, and I’m just grateful to be here.”