Bad weather along Florida's coast has forced SpaceX to abort the historic launch, which would have sent two astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). The launch, which utilizes the company's new Crew Dragon spacecraft, would have been the first piloted flight to orbit from the US since NASA had retired its Space Shuttle back in 2011. It would also be the first piloted launch to orbit performed by a privately owned company.
Due to the unfavorable weather conditions, NASA and SpaceX have decided to postpone the launch to Saturday at 3:22 pm EDT this week. The launch of the rocket has to be timed perfectly for it to be able to catch up and dock with the ISS in orbit. If the weather on Saturday still proves to be unfavorable, the next window for launch will be on Sunday at 3:00 pm Sunday.
The prospect for another launch attempt on the weekend reportedly does not look very positive. A forecast from the 45th Weather Squadron indicates that there is a 60 percent chance for electrical activity, cloud, and rain for both Saturday and Sunday. SpaceX has placed a strict rule that they would not launch if there is any kind of weather activity that would adversely affect its rocket's systems.
The two astronauts that would be on board SpaceX's spacecraft are Hurley and Robert Behnken, both veterans of NASA's Space Shuttle program. Both pilots have been training for the SpaceX flight for the past four years.
During yesterday's canceled launch, heavy rain and thick clouds covered much of Florida's Space Coast. Conditions had somewhat improved, encouraging SpaceX and NASA to push ahead with the launch. Hurley and Behnken had made their way into the Crew Dragon spacecraft and the Falcon 9 rocket was successfully fueled.
Unfortunately, at the 17-minute countdown mark, SpaceX mission managers called for an abort mission. Officials stated that if they had just 10 more minutes of favorable conditions, the launch would have been permitted. Unfortunately, the timing of the launch was very specific and it could not be delayed as the spacecraft would miss its rendezvous with the ISS.
Launch officials explained that forecasts had revealed favorable conditions 10 minutes after the actual launch time, but the conditions during the launch had violated SpaceX's strict three-rule system for a safe launch. These rules include acceptable limits on the weather's natural lightning potential, atmospheric electric charge, and icy cloud tops.
US President Donald Trump, who had flown to the spaceport to witness the historic launch, promised to return over the weekend to witness the next attempt. He also tweeted after the canceled launch, thanking the crew of NASA and SpaceX for their hard work.
