Cape Canaveral Cosmodrome: Launch to the ISS aborted

There were problems with the ignition system – that’s why the departure of the “Crew Dragon” rocket from the Cape Canaveral spaceport in the US state of Florida has been canceled. It is not known when a new attempt will be made.

The planned departure of two Americans, a Russian and an Emirati to the International Space Station (ISS) has been postponed. A few minutes before the planned launch of the “Crew Dragon” rocket, the process at the Cape Canaveral spaceport in the US state of Florida was canceled in the early morning, as shown on a live broadcast by the US space agency NASA. The reason should be problems with the ignition system.

It is not yet known exactly when the next attempt to launch the spacecraft from Elon Musk’s private space company SpaceX will be made.

Six months stay on the ISS

For almost an hour, Stephen Bowen, Warren Hoburg, Andrei Fedyaev and Sultan al-Niyadi had to remain in the capsule waiting for the fuel to be drained. The three astronauts and the cosmonaut were actually expected on the ISS on Tuesday. It is planned that the four astronauts will stay there for six months.

For the repeated time since the start of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine around a year ago – and the resulting immense tensions between the USA and Russia – astronauts from both countries are to launch together into space.

Delayed return – Soyuz capsule leak

Currently on board the ISS are Sergei Prokopyev, Dmitri Petelin, Frank Rubio, Nicole Mann, Josh Cassada, Koichi Wakata and Anna Kikina. Four of them, the “Crew-5” consisting of Mann, Cassada, Wakata and Kikina, are scheduled to fly back to Earth in a few days.

The return of Prokopyev, Petelin and Rubio was delayed because a leak was discovered in the Soyuz capsule that brought them to the ISS in September. According to experts, it was caused by the impact of a micrometeorite. That’s why a replacement spacecraft arrived at the ISS over the weekend, with which the three should probably return to Earth in September – instead of March as originally planned.