SpaceX Scrubs Crew-6 Launch Two Minutes Before Liftoff

With just two minutes until the SpaceX Crew-6 mission was set to liftoff, the launch was scrubbed late Sunday (February 26) night. The Falcon 9 rocket was supposed to ferry four astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA.

The crew included NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg, Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, and United Arab Emirates Sultan Al Neyadi. They will spend six months aboard the International Space Station, conducting experiments as part of the overall mission to land people on Mars.

Officials said the launch was suspended due to an issue with the ignition fluid used to help spark the rockets. The fuel has been removed from the rocket, and the crew has disembarked safely from the Dragon spacecraft.

"I'm proud of the NASA and SpaceX teams' focus and dedication to keeping Crew-6 safe," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. "Human spaceflight is an inherently risky endeavor, and, as always, we will fly when we are ready."

NASA said that the launch will have to wait until Thursday because of unfavorable weather conditions forecast for Tuesday.