KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — SpaceX’s, NASA’s Crew-3 launch pushed back due to a large storm system elevating winds and waves in the Atlantic Ocean along the Crew Dragon flight path for the Oct. 31 launch attempt.

It was a Halloween trick for four astronauts as they were prepared to be launched to the International Space Station in the fourth SpaceX-NASA crew mission, but weather issues are pushing that back.

Commander Raja Chari, pilot Thomas Marshburn and mission specialists Kayla Barron and Matthias Maurer were on board the Crew Dragon capsule Endurance for a 2:21 a.m. EDT liftoff from Launch Complex-39A at the Kennedy Space Center on Sunday, Oct. 31.

However, weather has pushed that back. 

The Halloween launch was an instantaneous launch, but since it has been pushed back, the next available backup chance is set for 1:10 a.m. EDT, Wednesday, Nov. 3, stated SpaceX.

The 45th Weather Squadron gave an 80% favorable chance for the Halloween liftoff of SpaceX’s famed Falcon 9 rocket that is carrying the Endurance into the great beyond and to the International Space Station.

Once stage separation happens, the Falcon 9’s first stage will land on the droneship “Just Read the Instructions” in the Atlantic Ocean.

That first stage was previously used for SpaceX’s 22nd re-supply mission to the ISS in June 2021, stated NASA.

Since the launch has been postponed, it means that NASA astronauts Marshburn, Barron and Chari, and European Space Agency astronaut Maurer will dock with the ISS at a later date. Originally, it was scheduled for 12:10 a.m. EDT, Monday, Nov. 1.

The Crew-3 astronauts will spend about six months at the station, conducting scientific research in areas like health technologies, materials science and plant science, which are all designed to prepare for human exploration, described NASA in a press release, with the agency adding that the research will also have benefits to life on Earth.

The Crew-3 is the fourth joint NASA-SpaceX mission to send astronauts to the ISS. The first one, Demo-2, was historic because it was the first time in nearly a decade astronauts lifted off from U.S. soil.

The Demo-2 launched happened in May 2020.

The second one was the Crew-1 launch in November 2020.

And earlier this year, the third mission Crew-2 took place in April.

When Crew-3 rocketeers board the ISS, they will not be the only Crew members there.

Crew-2 NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Aki Hoshide and European Space Agency's Thomas Pesquet are at the station currently.

They are planning a return trip back home on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endeavour capsule in early November.