SpaceX and NASA have delayed the Crew-9 astronaut launch from Thursday (Sept. 26) to no earlier than Saturday (Sept. 28) due to a strengthening tropical storm.

Crew-9 is NASA's next astronaut rotation onboard the International Space Station, and the 10th overall flight of NASA astronauts by SpaceX − including Demo-2 and Crews 1-9. SpaceX flies NASA astronaut crews to the space station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program.

NASA has scrubbed the launch of their joint Crew 9 mission with SpaceX. The agency said the decision was made to avoid potential impacts from Tropical Storm Helene. The launch is now scheduled for no earlier than 1:17 p.m. on Saturday. It will launch from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

NASA and SpaceX have postponed the much-anticipated Crew-9 mission, which was originally scheduled for September 26.

SpaceX will launch the Crew-9 for NASA with its Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 spacecraft, and this will also bring the Crew-8 personnel back to the planet. However, there is still another potential issue, as Tropical Cyclone 9 which NASA and Space Force's 45th weather squadron are closely monitoring.

NASA announced a delay in its Crew-9 mission with SpaceX due to Tropical Storm Helene. The mission, now set for Sept. 28, will send three NASA astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut to the ISS. Originally scheduled for Aug.

Another storm system is taking aim at Florida, this time possibly the Panhandle with storm effects all along the Gulf Coast. Tropical Storm Helene, soon to be a hurricane, is sweeping up from the Caribbean Sea into extremely warm waters that are fuel for tropical cyclones.