SpaceX Dragon CRS-23 Resupply Mission Gets A Launch Date

SpaceX has been busy all year launching rocket after rocket. Currently, it’s sitting on its longest time span between launches so far, but that was the end. Recently, NASA confirmed that the next Socket 9 launch is scheduled for no earlier than 3:37 AM on Saturday, August 28.

That logic is CRS-23 and is a cargo resupply mission to the ISS. The mission will mark the first reuse of its upgraded Cargo Dragon 2 spacecraft. SpaceX will have seen a delay of almost two months between launches when CRS-23 heads into orbit. That’s the largest gap in two years.

As for why there’s been such a long delay, some indications suggest that the Florida launch facility was down for most of July while the military completed routine maintenance. In the first half of 2021, SpaceX put 20 different Falcon 9 rockets and orbit.

The second half of the year has seen a slowdown that’s likely not what SpaceX had in mind. There’s also the possibility that SpaceX is focusing on its Starship launch rather than putting more Starlink satellites in orbit.