In a disappointing development for Elon Musk and NASA, SpaceX's Crew 6 launch to the International Space Station (ISS) was scrubbed two minutes before liftoff on Monday due to a reported “ground control anomaly.” 2 minutes before the take-off of the UAE astronauts, NASA issued a statement saying, 'Today's #Crew6 launch has been scrubbed due to an issue with ground systems. Stand by for details on a new launch date and time.' For the unversed, SpaceX Crew-6 is planned to be the sixth crewed operational NASA Commercial Crew flight of a Crew Dragon spacecraft, and the ninth overall crewed orbital flight. The mission was scheduled to launch no earlier than 27 February 2023, however, the initial launch has been scrubbed and is now scheduled for 28 February 2023 at 1:22 am.
The Crew6 mission is a significant step in UAE's history as astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi will be blasting off for the longest Arab space mission in history. AlNeyadi will be the second Emirati to bring the UAE flag to space, and is set to become the Arab world's first long-term mission specialist. Together with his crewmates from Nasa and Roscosmos, he will be spending 180 days on board the orbiting laboratory of the International Space Station (ISS), conducting experiments that will significantly contribute to humanity's understanding of life on and beyond Earth.
What went wrong moments before SpaceX's Crew 6 launch?
As per reports, reasons to scrub a launch include inclement weather such as strong winds in the upper atmosphere, thunderstorm, or cold temperatures. Technical or mechanical issues with the launch rocket, spacecraft, payload or systems on the ground are also justifications to call off or scrub the launch. Nasa earlier said, aside from Monday’s launch schedule, there is a backup opportunity available tomorrow, Tuesday, February 28, at 10.22 am (UAE time), and Thursday, March 2, at 9.34am (UAE time). SpaceX in its statement wrote, "Standing down from tonight's launch of Crew-6 due to a TEA-TEB ground system issue. Both Crew-6 and the vehicles are healthy and propellant offload has begun ahead of the crew disembarking Dragon"
Launch Update: Today's #Crew6 launch has been scrubbed due to an issue with ground systems. Stand by for details on a new launch date and time. https://t.co/149FPqMrnu pic.twitter.com/1PSYsjCGpL
— NASA (@NASA) February 27, 2023
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Standing down from tonight's launch of Crew-6 due to a TEA-TEB ground system issue. Both Crew-6 and the vehicles are healthy and propellant offload has begun ahead of the crew disembarking Dragon
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) February 27, 2023