Watch: Falcon 9 Launch Aborted by SpaceX

Space program enthusiasts will have to wait a bit longer to witness history in the making.

SpaceX’s commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station was scrubbed Tuesday morning with just one minute, 21 seconds left on the countdown clock, according to NASA. The decision was made to abort the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft mission due to a problem with a thrust vector control actuator for the rocket’s second stage, the agency reported.

”SpaceX is evaluating the issue and will determine the next opportunity to launch the company’s fifth commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station,” NASA wrote on its blog Tuesday morning. The next available launch window is Friday.

Had Tuesday’s mission gone off, it would have been the first attempt ever at landing the first stage of a two-stage rocket on a floating platform about 200 miles off Florida’s coast, EarthSky.org reported. The concept is meant to help make rockets reusable in an effort to bring down the cost of space travel, the website explained.

Information related to a new launch time on Florida’s east coast is not yet readily available.

See Also:

• Splashdown for NASA’s Orion Complete
• Watch: Orion Lifts Off into Space
• Orion Launch Reset for Friday
• Final Launch, Space Shuttle History

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Image courtesy of NASA