Spacex postpone the mission to bring astronauts stranded in space after a technical problem

A problem on the launch platform led Spacex to delay a flight to the International Space Station on Wednesday to replace the two NASA astronauts stranded there.

By Marcia Dunn – The Associated Press / Telemundo news

The new crew must reach the International Space Station so that Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams can return home after nine months in orbit.

Crew 10, from left. To der., Kirill Peskov, Nichole Ayers, Anne McClain and Takuya Onishi, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cabo Cañaveral, Florida, on March 12, 2025. Associated Press / AP

Less than four hours before the night take -off of the Falcon rocket from the NASA Kennedy Space Center, concerns about a critical hydraulic system arose. As the countdown progressed, engineers evaluated the hydraulic system used to release one of the two arms that hold the rocket to their support structure. This structure should bow back just before takeoff.

‘Already tied to their capsule, the four astronauts were waiting for a final decision, which arrived when there was less than an hour in the countdown. Spacex finally canceled the exit. The company did not immediately announce a new launch date, but noted that The next attempt could be as soon as Thursday night.

Once at the space station, the American, Japanese and Russian crew will replace Wilmore and Williams, which have been there since June. The two test pilots had to move to the space station for a prolonged stay after the new Boeing Starliner capsule suffered important breakdowns during the trip.

The opening flight of the Starliner crew was supposed to would last just one weekbut NASA ordered the capsule to return empty and moved the return of Wilmore and Williams to Spacex capsule.