Nasa, spacex further delay return of astronauts butch wilmore, sunita williams

NASA HAS POSTPONED THE MISSION DUE TO A LEAK IN THE SPACE SHUTTLE. THE SPACE AGENCY WILL ATTEMPT ANOTHER LAUNCH SOON TO BRING BACK A CREW OF FOUR ASTRONAUTS. New Delhi: NASA and SpaceX on

Wednesday announced the cancellation of the launch attempt for the Crew-10 mission to the International Space Station due to a hydraulic system issue involving a ground support clamp arm for

the Falcon 9 rocket at Launch Complex 39A in Florida's Kennedy Space Center. They indicated that the next possible launch opportunity would be no earlier than 5:00 am (IST) on March

15, pending a review of the identified issue. NASA stated that launch coverage would commence at 12:30 am on Saturday (IST), with docking targeted for 9:00 am (IST) on March 15. A crew of

four was set to travel to the ISS aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket for a six-month stay, primarily to bring back Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Sunita Williams, as reported by Fox

News. According to NASA, if the Crew-10 launch were to occur on March 13, the Crew-9 mission, which includes NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Sunita Williams, and Butch Wilmore, along with

Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, would leave the space station no earlier than 9:05 am on Monday, March 17, depending on the weather conditions at the splashdown locations off the

Florida coast. They highlighted that Crew-10 would mark the 10th crew rotation mission of SpaceX's human space transportation system and its 11th crewed flight to the space station

under NASA's Commercial Crew Program. Ahead of the scheduled launch, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth shared a supportive video message for NASA's SpaceX Crew-10 mission. He

expressed his thoughts and prayers for the crew and conveyed his eagerness to welcome them home soon.  Hegseth also relayed a message from President Trump, who urged Elon Musk to expedite

the return of the astronauts. He mentioned that they were bringing home retired US Navy Captains Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, who had been stranded on the ISS for nine months, far

beyond their original one-week stay after being transported there aboard Boeing's Starliner, which returned unmanned in September due to several issues. President Trump had criticised

former President Biden for allegedly leaving the astronauts behind in space and had authorised Musk to arrange their return. During a press conference at the Oval Office, he expressed his

commitment to retrieving them and conveyed his frustration over their extended stay on the ISS. Trump recounted his conversations with Musk about the capability to rescue the astronauts,

mentioning Musk's readiness with a starship for the operation. He also commented on the unique qualities of Sunita Williams, highlighting her determination and the dangers faced in

space, ultimately promising to greet the astronauts upon their return. _ALSO READ: NASA LAUNCHES ITS NEWEST SPACE TELESCOPE, SET TO CONDUCT ALL-SKY SURVEY, MAP MILLIONS OF GALAXIES_ _INPUTS

FROM ANI_