Elon Musk rocket launch postponed due to bad weather

Countdown halted less than 17 minutes before Falcon 9 due to lift off from Kennedy Space Center

This still image taken from Nasa TV, shows the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, with astronauts Bob Behnken (front) and Doug Hurley, at Launch Complex 39A in Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 27th. Photograph: AFP/Nasa TV via Getty
This still image taken from Nasa TV, shows the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, with astronauts Bob Behnken (front) and Doug Hurley, at Launch Complex 39A in Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 27th. Photograph: AFP/Nasa TV via Getty

SpaceX, the private rocket company of billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, was forced by foul weather to stall a planned launch on Wednesday of two Americans into orbit from Florida, a mission that would mark the first spaceflight of NASA astronauts from US soil in nine years.

The countdown was halted less than 17 minutes before the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was due to lift off from the Kennedy Space Center, propelling Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken on a 19-hour ride aboard the company’s newly designed Crew Dragon capsule bound for the International Space Station.

The next launch window is set for Saturday afternoon. - Reuters

More to follow.