SpaceX-NASA crewed mission postponed due to inclement weather

The historic launch of SpaceX to the International Space Station – the first crewed mission to take off from American soil in nearly a decade – was canceled on Wednesday due to bad weather.

With NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley strapped into the Crew Dragon pod, the retracted launch pad platform and the rocket refueling underway, SpaceX called for the halt.

“Unfortunately, we’re not going to launch today,” said launch director Mike Taylor, less than 20 minutes from takeoff.

Officials cited the threat of lightning, among other factors.

This means waiting at least a few more days for the first crewed launch of an American rocket since the end of the space shuttle program in 2011. They will try again on Saturday.

If successful, the launch will be the first time that the feat will be performed by a private company.

A live video stream showed Behnken and Hurley – in their futuristic white uniforms adorned with the American flag and NASA and SpaceX logos – waiting for the propellant to be unloaded from the reusable Falcon 9 rocket.

The emergency ejection system remained armed until the fuel tanks were emptied in the event of an accidental explosion.

The launch was scheduled for 4:33 p.m. (8:33 p.m. GMT) from Kennedy Space Center launch pad 39A. Neil Armstrong and his Apollo 11 teammates took off from the same location on their historic trip to the Moon.

The mission intervenes despite the stops caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the crew having been in quarantine for two weeks.

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump had arrived in Florida to watch, but returned to the White House after the launch was canceled.

Highlights of the SpaceX rocket launch