Early Monday, the US Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and SpaceX postponed a launch scheduled for two American astronauts and one astronaut each from Russia and the United Arab Emirates, minutes before the scheduled time to take off from Florida on a flight to the International Space Station.
NASA and the private SpaceX rocket company founded by billionaire Elon Musk attributed the delay to a technical glitch related to the flow of ignition fluid used to help start the spacecraft’s engines, reports Al-Rai daily.
The countdown continued to advance until about two and a half minutes before launch, when NASA announced in its live broadcast on the Internet that the launch of the four crew members on their scientific mission, which is expected to last six months, will be postponed.
NASA said mission managers had already decided to forgo the next launch opportunity early Tuesday morning due to unfavorable weather forecasts.
NASA and SpaceX are instead looking for a possible launch opportunity at 05:34 GMT on Thursday, but a decision has yet to be made as the teams continue to work to resolve the technical glitch today, NASA said.
