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The new crew needs to get to the International Space Station
before Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams can head home after nine
months in orbit.
Concerns over a critical hydraulic system arose less than four
hours before the Falcon rocket's planned evening liftoff from
NASA's Kennedy Space Center. As the countdown clocks ticked
down, engineers evaluated the hydraulics used to release one of
the two arms clamping the rocket to its support structure. This
structure needs to tilt back right before liftoff.
Already strapped into their capsule, the four astronauts awaited
a final decision, which came down with less than an hour
remaining in the countdown. SpaceX canceled for the day.
Officials later said the launch was off until at least Friday.
Once at the space station, the U.S., Japanese and Russian crew
will replace Wilmore and Williams, who have been up there since
June. The two test pilots had to move into the space station for
an extended stay after Boeing's new Starliner capsule
encountered major breakdowns in transit.
Starliner's debut crew flight was supposed to last just a week,
but NASA ordered the capsule to return empty and transferred
Wilmore and Williams to SpaceX for the return leg.
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