A launch pad issue prompted SpaceX to postpone a flight to the International Space Station on Wednesday to replace two NASA astronauts who have been stranded for months.
The new crew needs to get to the ISS before Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams can return home after nine months in orbit.
Concerns about a critical hydraulic system emerged less than four hours before the Falcon rocket’s nighttime liftoff from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. As the countdown clocks ticked down, engineers assessed the hydraulic system used to release one of the two arms that secure the rocket to its support structure. This structure needs to tilt back even before takeoff.
The four astronauts were awaiting a final decision, which was made with less than an hour left in the countdown.
SpaceX did not immediately announce a new launch date, but noted that the next attempt could be as early as Thursday night.
Once at the space station, the American, Japanese and Russian crew will replace Wilmore and Williams, who have been there since June.
The two test pilots had to relocate to the space station for an extended stay after Boeing’s new Starliner capsule suffered major damage during transport.
The first Starliner crew flight was supposed to last just a week, but NASA ordered the capsule to return empty and transferred Wilmore and Williams to SpaceX for the return trip.
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