The scheduled mission to send three American astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut to the International Space Station on Saturday was cancelled due to adverse weather conditions.

SpaceX stated that the lift-off was postponed while NASA declared that it is now aiming for Sunday at 10:53 p.m. EST.

Endeavour, the SpaceX Crew Dragon, will transport four individuals on a Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

A few hours prior to the planned launch on Saturday night, SpaceX announced on their social media platform that the launch would be postponed due to strong winds.

This marked the most recent delay for the launch, originally scheduled for February 22nd.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been providing astronaut launch services for NASA since 2020 under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, while a rival program by Boeing has yet to get going.

Matthew Dominick, head of the Crew-8 mission, is embarking on his maiden voyage to space, along with fellow American Jeanette Epps. This mission also marks the inaugural spaceflight for Russian cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin.

Physician Michael Barratt is currently on his third trip to the International Space Station. Previously, he had been on two missions using space shuttles, but these were retired in 2011.

In the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, space is a scarce realm for collaboration between the United States and Russia.

The team will conduct experiments utilizing stem cells to produce organoids, which are clusters of cells that mimic organs, in order to investigate degenerative conditions. They will utilize the unique microgravity conditions to facilitate three-dimensional cell development, which is not achievable on our planet.

Joel Montalbano, NASA’s International Space Station program manager, told reporters that the U.S. was keeping a close eye on a “small leak” on the Russian side of the research platform, the latest of several recent issues on the Russian side.

The hatch has been shut in order to contain the leak within the ISS and prevent it from spreading to other areas.