Zena Cardman, a two-time UNC-Chapel Hill alumna, was scheduled to be part of NASA history on Thursday.
Unfortunately, the flight she was assigned to be a commander on was delayed due to weather with storm clouds moving in. The decision was made with less than one minute to go until launch, meaning Cardman will have to wait for her first venture into space.
Other WRAL Top Stories
Cardman was part of the NASA SpaceX Crew-11 that was expected to go to the International Space Station. The Falcon 9 rocket was scheduled to take off just after 12:09 p.m. from Kennedy Space Center at Merritt Island, Florida.
Friday at 11:43 a.m. is a possible next attempt for launch, weather permitting. Other opportunities for launch are also possible.
The rest of the crew included Mike Fincke, pilot, along with mission specialists JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov.
Last weekend, the crew left NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston to arrive in Florida.
On Wednesday morning, NASA, SpaceX and international partner teams all gave the thumbs up for launch after a Flight Readiness Review.
Cardman was picked as a NASA astronaut in 2017 and was initially assigned to be commander on the Crew-9 mission in 2024. She holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s in marine sciences at UNC and gave the commencement address at the university in 2024.