Crew-6 Launch Postponed Three Minutes Before Lift-off

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has postponed the Crew-6 mission launch three minutes before blast-off from the Kennedy Space Centre today due to a technical issue. SpaceX announced on Twitter early Monday morning that the launch had been called off due to a problem with the fluid that ignites the rocket engine.

"Standing down from tonight's launch of Crew-6 due to a TEA-TEB ground system issue," wrote SpaceX, referring to a chemical used to ignite rocket engines. "Both Crew-6 and the vehicles are healthy and propellant offload has begun ahead of the crew disembarking Dragon."

The Crew-6 mission was due to launch at 1:45 a.m. ET from Launch Complex 39-A at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. During NASA's live broadcast of the historic mission, the host mentioned an issue with the rocket engine's igniter about five minutes before the scheduled takeoff. NASA and SpaceX decided to scrub the launch after mission operators failed to clear the technical issue.

The crew, including UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi, NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren "Woody" Hoburg, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaey, will remain inside the rocket until after the engineers have offloaded fuel from the rocket. They will egress after the propellant is discharged from the vehicle and the arm used as a passageway by the astronauts to and from the rocket is reattached.

NASA is yet to announce the new launch schedule for the Crew-6 mission. The SpaceX website shows a backup opportunity will be at 1:22 a.m. on Feb. 28, Tuesday, but nothing has been confirmed yet. Forecasters have also said the weather tomorrow would not be as ideal as it is today.

The Crew-6 mission is a historic one for the UAE, as it is the first time the country will send an astronaut on long-duration spaceflight. During the mission, Al Neyadi and his crew will conduct science demonstrations and experiments on the International Space Station (ISS) for six months before returning to Earth.

An hour before the scheduled blast-off, Al Neyadi took to Twitter to bid the Earth farewell. "On this planet, I leave behind everyone I love and take off to space. I leave behind a country that has forged its way to stars and lit its path with Zayed's ambition," he wrote.