NASA, SpaceX astronaut postpone launch at last minute

NASA and SpaceX have suspended early on Monday the launching four crew members to International Space Station (ISS), the delay came due to a technical issue related to ignition fluid used to help start the spacecraft’s engines.

Kate Tice, a SpaceX systems engineer stated that the decision to delay was made “out of an abundance of caution.” Crew members had to wait until the rocket was completely drained from its fuel. They will be staying at Kennedy Space Center until the next launch attempt.

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carried four crew members in its Crew Dragon capsule. The four members include NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen, first-time flier Warren Hoburg, Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, and Sultan Alneyadi, who will be the second astronaut from the UAE ever to travel to space.

The rocket was scheduled to take off at 0645 GMT from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The next launching attempt is expected to take place on Tuesday.

However, weather may not work in favour of the attempt on that day, said Steve Stich the program manager for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. As for the second launch attempt, there is no final date confirmed yet.

Upon successful launch, the crew would take about 25 hours to reach their destination at ISS, and will be spending up to six months. This mission would mark the sixth long-duration ISS team and the seventh astronaut flight SpaceX has carried out on NASA’s behalf since 2020.