Florida, March 13 (V7N) – SpaceX has postponed the planned launch of its Crew-10 mission, which was set to send four astronauts into orbit Wednesday night. The launch, scheduled for 7:48 p.m. EST from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, was scrubbed just 45 minutes before the countdown due to a ground issue with the hydraulic system of the Falcon 9 rocket's clamp arms, which hold the rocket in place on the launch pad.

NASA and SpaceX decided to delay the launch while teams assess when it will be safe to attempt again. The astronauts, who were onboard the SpaceX Dragon capsule, exited the spacecraft shortly before 8 p.m. NASA astronaut Anne McClain expressed appreciation for the team's effort, saying, "Great working with you today, the whole team."

The Crew-10 mission, originally set to bring two astronauts, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, back to Earth after spending nine months in orbit, has now been delayed. If the launch had gone as planned, the spacecraft would have docked with the International Space Station (ISS) around 6 a.m. EST, followed by a welcome ceremony at 7:45 a.m. NASA had previously postponed the Crew-10 mission twice, with the launch being moved to late March to give SpaceX more time to prepare the Dragon capsule.

The Crew-10 mission is part of NASA’s commercial crew program, which contracts SpaceX to transport astronauts and cargo to the ISS. NASA's Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the moon, remains a key priority, with future crewed expeditions to Mars also in development.

The Crew-10 astronauts are:

  • NASA astronaut Anne McClain (Commander)
  • NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers (Pilot)
  • Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi (Mission Specialist)
  • Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov (Mission Specialist)

This delay is the latest in a series of setbacks for the mission, but SpaceX and NASA continue to work toward a successful launch in the coming days.

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