The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch was aborted on Wednesday
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch was aborted on Wednesday
The mission to rescue NASA's stranded astronauts has been delayed yet again - due to a launch pad problem.
It marks another setback in SpaceX's nine-month-long saga to free Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore who have been stuck on the International Space Station (ISS) since June last year.
Elon Musk's company was supposed to launch Falcon 9 rocket for ISS on Wednesday evening but, at the 11th hour, plans at Kennedy Space Centre in Florida were scrapped.
Concerns over a critical hydraulic system were raised just as the four astronauts primed to replace Sunita and Butch had been strapped into their seats. Both NASA and SpaceX will now reconvene this evening to have a second attempt at launching.
SpaceX's huge Starship rocket comes crashing down minutes into test flight
The four new astronauts were ready to go - but then received the news the mission had been axed
The four new astronauts were ready to go - but then received the news the mission had been axed ( Image: @SpaceX)
When the new US, Japanese and Russian crew reach ISS, they will replace rest pilots Sunita and Butch, whose stay there has been extended after Boeing's new Starliner capsule encountered major breakdowns in transit last year.
Starliner's debut crew flight was supposed to last just a week, but NASA ordered the capsule to return empty and transferred Sunita and Butch to SpaceX for the return leg.
Speaking ahead of the latest attempt, a SpaceX commentator said on the livestream: "We will not launch unless we know we can do so safely and reliably." Indeed, the fresh snag jeopardised the safety of the operation, the spokesman later told the livestream.
Donald Trump's humiliating own goal as Elon Musk suffers £115billion loss since inauguration
It's another blow for Mr Musk's company, and follows the failed launch of a Starship rocket last week in Texas. The rocket broke apart when it lost contact soon after blasting off last Monday. Wreckage from the 403-foot structure was seen streaming from the skies as far Florida, some distance east.
It is not immediately known whether the spacecraft's self-destruct system had kicked in to blow it up. However, footage shared online shows flaming debris rain down following the out-of-control spin.
SpaceX caught the first-stage booster back at the pad with giant mechanical arms, but engines on the spacecraft on top started shutting down as it streaked eastward for what was supposed to be a controlled entry over the Indian Ocean.
It is the latest in several failed test flights for SpaceX rockets, including one which exploded in January again after leaving Texas. A witness to that blast said: "That's crazy, I've never seen anything like that in my life. That's wild."