Rapidly approaching Tropical Storm Helene has caused NASA and Space X to delay the launch of one of its upcoming astronaut missions in Central Florida. The Crew-9 mission was expected to launch Thursday afternoon from Cape Canaveral, ahead of the predicted landfall of what is forecast to be Hurricane Helene along Florida’s Gulf Coast.

The pieces are in place for SpaceX's Crew-9 astronaut mission, which is set to launch this week.

The next astronauts heading to the International Space Station are preparing for launch at Florida’s Space Coast.

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.

The storm should impact Brevard County starting Thursday with winds in the 40-50 mph range, whipping up to 60 mph on the barrier islands

NASA and SpaceX won’t be launching its next crew to the International Space Station as planned this week because of the threat from what is forecast to become Hurricane Helene. NASA announced Tuesday that the planned launch that could have occurred Thursday will now be pushed to at least Saturday as the brewing storm aims to head up into the Gulf of Mexico and strike the Florida coast.

NASA reported that the launch of the SpaceX Crew-9 spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS), which was planned for Saturday, has been postponed due to the impending Hurricane Helene. Two astronauts are on board.