SpaceX Calls Off Crew-10 Launch Aimed at Retrieving Boeing Starliner Crew

SpaceX Calls Off Crew-10 Launch Aimed at Retrieving Boeing Starliner Crew

I have been following the adventures of the Boeing Starliner crew, whose 8-day mission morphed into a 9-month stay.

In my last report, I noted that the SpaceX craft that would be sent to collect them would be launching this week, and hopefully they would return to Earth by early next week.

Unfortunately, that mission was delayed after the launch, which was called off shortly before the blast off.

The company had planned to send the four-person Crew-10 mission toward the International Space Station (ISS) atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida this evening at 7:48 p.m. EDT (2348 GMT). About 45 minutes before liftoff, however, SpaceX called the attempt off due to a hydraulics issue with the transporter-erector, the structure that hauls the Falcon 9 to the pad and supports it once it’s there.

“Great working with you today,” Crew-10 commander Anne McClain of NASA told launch controllers after the scrub. “Kudos from the whole team, I know it was a lot of work to try to go, but like I said earlier, we’ll be ready when the equipment is.”

SpaceX has postponed the launch of a replacement crew to the ISS, delaying the return of U.S. astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who have been stranded in space for nine months due to issues with Boeing's Starliner. This setback highlights ongoing challenges in crewed … pic.twitter.com/c1c0PitdPf

— MiloX Trading (@CryptoMilox) March 13, 2025

Shortly before the scrub, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth sent the SpaceX Crew-10 a message of support.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth shared a message of support for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 ahead of their launch on Wednesday, highlighting the U.S. military’s prominent role in the mission.

“I just want to take a brief moment to say we are praying for you,” Hegseth said in a video posted to X. “We wish you Godspeed, and we look forward to welcoming you all home soon.”

The good news is that there are windows of opportunity to launch again on Thursday and Friday. Meanwhile, the spacecraft’s crew returned to their base in style.

Both NASA and SpaceX will now reconvene on Thursday evening to have a second attempt at launching. Commentators from SpaceX said there would also be an opportunity on Friday if the original backup launch also fails.

This would have let Williams and Wilmore flee the ISS two days later and be back on Earth with the families by Sunday.

..The crew were taken from the rocket one at a time and led to several waiting Teslas, which are specially designed for the astronauts. They were driven to a quarantine location in Florida, where they must remain until the next launch attempt.

‘We will not launch unless we know we can do so safely and reliably,’ a SpaceX commentator said in the livestream of the event.

The four-person crew included Japan’s Takuya Onishi, Russia’s Kirill Peskov, and NASA’s Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers.

Awesome decision as always SpaceX! I would had done the same. It’s best to do it with the full moon up in two days. More light the better. Expert planning as always SpaceX! Please tell Elon Musk to give you all a raise! Keep up the good work! 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/VbEnnq1JmL

— 𝕩Simon Wu (@sisisimon) March 12, 2025

Here’s hoping the luck of the Irish is with Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams this St. Patrick’s Day!

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