Multi-billionaire Elon Musk’s aerospace company SpaceX has postponed the launch of a Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station (ISS). Crew 6’s mission was aborted Monday two minutes before its scheduled launch.
As the American space agency NASA announced, there was a problem with the ground system. The fuel was pumped out and the crew had to get out again. According to NASA, another launch attempt will be made at 12:34 a.m. (local time, 6:34 p.m. CET) on Thursday.
The launch vehicle was scheduled to launch Monday at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, carrying two American astronauts, a Russian cosmonaut and an astronaut from the United Arab Emirates in a Dragon space capsule. NASA Chief Bill Nelson supported the cancellation of the launch.
Crew-6, consisting of NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and NASA’s Warren Hoburg, Russian cosmonaut Andrei Fedyaev from Russia and astronaut Sultan al-Nejadi from the Emirates, is expected to spend six months on the ISS.
Crew 6 will replace Crew 5 on the ISS after a transfer of several days. Russia’s Anna Kikina, American astronaut Nicole Mann and her compatriot Josh Cassada, and Japan’s Koichi Wakata also arrived at the ISS aboard a Dragon spacecraft in October and are now scheduled to return to Earth.
Leakage in the cooling system
In addition, American astronaut Frank Rubio and Russian cosmonauts Sergei Prokopjew and Dmitri Petelin are currently on board the ISS. They were originally supposed to fly back to Earth in the Russian MS-22 Soyuz capsule at the end of March. However, the capsule docked to the ISS was apparently damaged by a small meteorite in mid-December, causing a leak in the spacecraft’s cooling system.
The mission of the three astronauts was extended by six months due to the malfunction. On Sunday, the unmanned Soyuz MS-23 reached the ISS, which launched Friday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It should return the three astronauts trapped in the space station to Earth in September. (sda/afp)
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
