SpaceX and NASA’s launch of an astronaut to the International Space Station was canceled at the last minute

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(CNN) SpaceX and NASA have canceled an astronaut’s launch to the International Space Station after discovering a problem with the rocket’s ground system.

With about two minutes left on the countdown clock, the launch was canceled due to an issue with TEA-TEB ignition fluid, which is used to ignite the engines of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at liftoff.

The decision to cancel the launch was made “out of an abundance of caution,” SpaceX systems engineer Kate Tice said in a commentary on Monday’s webcast.

The four astronauts, who were strapped into their Crew Dragon capsule atop the rocket in the hours before launch, disembarked from the spacecraft after waiting for the 230-foot (70 m) rocket to be de-fueled. They will remain on site at Kennedy Space Center until the next launch attempt.

NASA said it will now look forward to launching the SpaceX Crew-6 mission at 12:34 a.m. ET Thursday, March 2, “to resolve a pending technical issue preventing Monday’s launch.”

The agency said it would skip the launch opportunity on Tuesday due to unfavorable weather forecasts.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said blog post.

“Human spaceflight is an inherently risky endeavor, and as always, we’ll fly when we’re ready.”

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule were scheduled to lift off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 1:45 a.m. ET on Monday. But the clock was stopped by the engineers overseeing ground systems less than three minutes early.

This mission is expected to mark the seventh astronaut flight by SpaceX on behalf of NASA since 2020.

Crew-6 team that will start SpaceX capsule Among them are NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen, a veteran of three space shuttle missions, and first pilot Warren Hoburg, as well as Sultan Al Neyadi, who will be the second astronaut from the United Arab Emirates ever to travel to space, and Russian cosmonaut Andrei Fedyaev.

Once Bowen, Hoborg, Fedayev, and El Neyadi are on the International Space Station, they will work to take over operations from the SpaceX Crew-5 astronauts who He arrived at the space station in October 2022.

They are expected to spend up to six months aboard the orbiting laboratory, conducting science experiments and maintaining the two-decade-old station.

The mission comes as astronauts currently on the International Space Station grapple with a separate transportation issue.

In December, the Russian Soyuz spacecraft that was being used to transport two cosmonauts and one NASA astronaut to the space station developed a coolant leak. After the capsule was deemed unsafe for returning cosmonauts, the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, A replacement vehicle launched on February 23rd. I arrived at the International Space Station on Saturday.