With astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken strapped inside SpaceX's Dragon crew capsule and the countdown narrowing, poor weather conditions forced an abort.
will continue monitoring liftoff and downrange weather as we step into the countdown. We are proceeding toward a 4:33 launch.Speaking at a pre-launch briefing earlier in the week, Bridenstine called the historic launch"a big moment in time.
"NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley are scheduled to lift off from Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Flight Center in Florida on Wednesday.NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley are scheduled to lift off from Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Flight Center in Florida on Wednesday.At 4:33 p.m. ET, astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley were scheduled to lift off from Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Flight Center in Florida. They would be making the trip to space aboard SpaceX's Dragon crew capsule, the first time astronauts have ever traveled to the station aboard a private spaceship. Hours before the planned launch, Hurley and Behnken suited up as they spoke for a few minutes with Bridenstine and SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk. The duo bid a brief goodbye to their families and proceeded to the pad in Tesla Model X electric cars. After riding the elevator to the top of the launch structure and walking across a connecting arm, the two were strapped into the Dragon capsule. At about 45 minutes before the scheduled liftoff, launch control gave a"go" to load propellant in the Falcon 9 rocket. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk talks to reporters and NASA personnel at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Wednesday.SpaceX CEO Elon Musk talks to reporters and NASA personnel at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Wednesday."This is a dream come true, I think for me and for everyone at SpaceX," Musk said, adding:"I didn't even dream this would come true." Asked whether he felt the weight of responsibility of having humans in SpaceX rockets for the first time, Musk said he did, especially when he spoke to the families of the astronauts."I said, 'We've done everything we can to make sure your dads come back.'" President Trump had been expected to attend the launch and deliver post-launch remarks inside NASA's massive Vehicle Assembly building, according to the space agency. The Dragon capsule resembles the cone-shaped spacecraft of earlier generations, with some snazzy updates, such as a gleaming white exterior and, on the inside, touchscreen control panels. It will sit atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket — the company's workhorse launch vehicle that has successfully flown 83 times since 2010. The Dragon capsule has powerful engines that allow it to escape from the top of the rocket if it gets into trouble.The Dragon capsule has powerful engines that allow it to escape from the top of the rocket if it gets into trouble.To some observers, the setup may look retrograde compared to the enormous space shuttle, which could fly back to Earth on wings."We do think of winged vehicles landing like an airplane, as something that was more futuristic than a capsule on top of a rocket," says Lori Garver, a former NASA deputy administrator and CEO ofBut the capsule design has considerable safety advantages. Unlike the shuttle, it sits on top of the rocket, therefore avoiding debris that can fall off during launch — a problem that doomed the Space Shuttle Columbia in a 2003 launch. The position also makes it easy to eject the
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