The International Space Station (ISS) mission to bring back stranded NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore on Thursday, March 13, was delayed due to a hydraulic issue with one of the ground systems. The replacement crew-10 must reach the ISS before both astronauts can return to Earth following their nine-month stay in the orbital mission.
NASA engineers found issues with a hydraulic system four hours before the takeoff of a Falcon rocket scheduled to launch at 5.30 am IST on Thursday from Kennedy Space Center. During the countdown, technicians assessed the hydraulics responsible for releasing one of two arms securing the rocket to its support structure, which must retract just before lift-off.
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NASA launch commentator Derrol Nail said that the hydraulic system on the ground side was faulty, but otherwise, the rocket and the spacecraft were fine, according to the news agency AFP. There is now new launch date has been announced yet from both SpaceX and NASA, the company indicated the next attempt could occur as soon as Thursday night.