CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A launch pad problem prompted SpaceX to delay a flight to the International Space Station on Wednesday to replace NASA’s two stuck astronauts.
The new crew needs to get to the International Space Station before Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams can head home after nine months in orbit.
Concerns over a critical hydraulic system arose less than four hours before the Falcon rocket’s planned evening liftoff from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. As the countdown clocks ticked down, engineers evaluated the hydraulics used to release one of the two arms clamping the rocket to its support structure. This structure needs to tilt back right before liftoff.
Starship is an experimental prototype. They’ve still landed the Super Heavy booster - what, two or three times now already? Meanwhile, Falcon 9 has been launching and landing near-flawlessly for so long that we don’t even pay attention to it anymore. Is their technology perfect? Of course not - nothing is. But I still think one should focus on the bigger picture rather than letting their opinion of the CEO cloud their judgment.