NASA and SpaceX suspended the launch of the Crew-10 mission from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to the International Space Station on Wednesday night. The Falcon 9 rocket was set to carry four astronauts aiming to replace their two colleagues Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who have been stranded in space since June 2024.
The launch was scheduled for 7:48 p.m., but at 7:13 p.m. it was reported that it was suspended due to a hydraulic ground problem, as published by Wesh 2.
“Concerns about a fundamental hydraulic system arose less than four hours before the scheduled launch of the Falcon rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center,” reported AP, which indicated that “engineers evaluated the hydraulic systems used to release one of the two arms holding the rocket to its support structure. This structure needs to tilt back just before launch.”
The astronauts were waiting for a decision, and it was not until less than an hour before the launch that they were informed that they would not take off.
NASA and SpaceX reschedule replacement of astronauts
NASA and SpaceX have announced that the Crew-10 mission has been rescheduled for Thursday night, March 13, with the same astronauts who were prepared to launch on Wednesday: Commander Anne McClain, Pilot Anne McClain, along with mission specialists from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov.
The plan is to replace astronauts Williams and Wilmore, members of the first manned mission of Starline, who went on a one-week trip but to date, are still in space.
Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, and President Donald Trump have accused the Joe Biden administration of delaying the return of astronauts to Earth for political reasons, something that has been rejected by Democrats and retired astronauts.