The United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and SpaceX had to cancel the spacecraft launch on Wednesday (March 12th) due to issues with the launch pad, thereby delaying the mission to bring back two astronauts who have been stranded in space for over nine months from the International Space Station.
This means that NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will have to wait at least another two days to see the spacecraft that will bring them back to Earth take off.
NASA originally planned for SpaceX’s Crew-10 mission crewed Dragon spacecraft to launch on Wednesday to carry out the routine crew rotation mission at the International Space Station and bring Wilmore and Williams back to Earth upon return.
However, NASA announced on Wednesday night in a statement that the launch operation was canceled due to hydraulic system issues with the ground support clamp arms of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.
Officials canceled the launch less than an hour before the scheduled time, with the four astronauts already strapped into the spacecraft, awaiting the final decision.
NASA spokesperson Darrol Nail said during a live broadcast at the scene, “This is a ground issue. The rocket and spacecraft are all normal.”
The agency stated on Wednesday evening that the new launch time is set for no earlier than 7:03 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday.
After the spacecraft carrying the Crew-10 mission crew arrives at the International Space Station, there will be several days of transition time for the newly arrived four astronauts to adjust to the orbiting laboratory. The spacecraft will then carry Wilmore, Williams, and two other astronauts from the International Space Station back to Earth.
On June 5th last year, Wilmore and Williams flew to the International Space Station aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, originally planned to return to Earth after an eight-day stay in orbit. However, helium leaks and propulsion failures were discovered in the spacecraft, prompting NASA to decide not to return the crewed Starliner to Earth for safety reasons.
In August last year, NASA announced that these two astronauts would return to Earth on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft scheduled for launch in February 2025.
However, in December last year, the agency announced that the date of Crew-9 mission crewed Dragon’s return to Earth was postponed to late March of this year because SpaceX needed more time to prepare for its brand-new spacecraft to launch.
In February this year, NASA announced that the next group of astronauts would fly on the old spacecraft, advancing the launch time to March 12th.
If the originally planned launch on Wednesday had been successful, the Crew-9 mission crew would have left the International Space Station on March 16th. However, due to the launch delay, it is not yet clear how much the upcoming schedule will change.