Shortly before liftoff, SpaceX cancels a crew launch due to igniter issues
Enlarge / SpaceX's Crew-6 mission is seen this weekend before leaving planet Earth. (credit: NASA)
At just over two minutes to go before SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket was due to launch a crew of four astronauts to the International Space Station early on Monday, the mission was scrubbed due to an issue with igniter fluid.
NASA's Crew-6 mission had been due to take off at 1:45 am ET from Launch Complex 39-A in Florida, at Kennedy Space Center. During the space agency's webcast, the host first mentioned the issue with the TEA-TEB igniter fluid about five minutes before the anticipated liftoff time. Mission operators were not able to clear the technical issue before the instantaneous launch window opened.
The crew was safe on board the Crew Dragon spacecraft. NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen, the mission commander, and Warren Woody" Hoburg, its pilot, along with United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Alneyadi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, both mission specialists, will egress the vehicle later on Monday morning after propellant is off-loaded from the rocket.