A launch pad failure has forced SpaceX to postpone a flight to the International Space Station (ISS) that was supposed to pick up two NASA astronauts who have been stuck in orbit for nine months.
The Falcon 9 rocket had four crew members on board when it had to abort liftoff from the Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Wednesday.
According to NASA, ground staff raised concerns about high winds, rain and the functionality of a critical hydraulic system less than four hours before scheduled lift-off.
NASA astronauts commander Anne McClain, pilot Nichole Ayers, alongside mission specialists, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov exit the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout building at NASA Kennedy ahead of launch on March 12, 2025 in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
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Engineers evaluated the hydraulics used to release one of the two arms clamping the rocket to its support structure. This structure needs to tilt back right before liftoff.
The crew on board, who were already buckled into their flight capsule when the issue was identified, have to arrive at the ISS before Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams can head home after almost a year in space.
NASA’s Boeing crew, flight test commander Butch Wilmore (L) and pilot Suni Williams, walk out of the Operations and Checkout Building on May 6, 2024 in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The astronauts are heading to Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, which sits atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at Space Launch Complex 41 for NASA’s Boeing crew flight test to the International Space Station.
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The final decision to cancel the flight came with an hour left in the countdown. Officials later confirmed that the launch would be delayed to at least Friday.
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Wilmore and Williams were sent on a week-long mission to the International Space Station last June but were unable to return to Earth when their Boeing Starliner capsule suffered a series of malfunctions. In August, NASA deemed the spacecraft unsafe for travel, leaving the pair to get comfortable at the ISS while SpaceX prepared a rescue mission.
However, SpaceX delayed the launch of its Crew Dragon spacecraft as it needed additional preparations.
Consequently, NASA opted to send up an older capsule, which was supposed to launch on Wednesday with NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov on board.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 is now expected to begin its journey to the ISS at 7:03 p.m. eastern time on Friday.
Williams and Wilmore, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, will depart the space station no earlier than Wednesday, March 19 on the same vessel.
— with files from Reuters and The Associated Press
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