The manned mission comes despite lockdowns caused by the COVID pandemic, with the crew in quarantine for the past two weeks.
Florida| The first manned mission to be launched from US soil in almost a decade, SpaceX’s landmark launch to the International Space Station, was postponed Wednesday due to bad weather.
With NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley strapped into the Crew Dragon capsule, the launchpad platform retracted and rocket fueling underway, SpaceX made the call to abort.
“Unfortunately, we are not going to launch today,” launch director Mike Taylor said, with less than 20 minutes to go until takeoff.
The countdown was halted just 16 minutes and 54 seconds before the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket had been due to launch astronauts on a 19-hour ride to the International Space Station.
It means a wait of at least a few more days for the first manned mission on an American rocket since the space shuttle program ended in 2011. SpaceX will try again on Saturday.
The launch, if successful, will be the first time the feat has been performed by a privately-owned company.
This was a disappointment for US President Trump, who made the trip to Florida for what he expected would display a victorious moment for America as the country battles the COVID pandemic.
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The manned mission comes despite lockdowns caused by the COVID pandemic, with the crew in quarantine for the past two weeks.
Today, deaths related to COVID-19 in the United States topped 1,00,000. The United States, the worst affected country in the world, recorded over 1.6 Million cases of COVID-19.
Globally, the total number of COVID-19 cases nears 5,500,000 while the death toll crossed 350,000, as per the latest data from Johns Hopkins University.
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