NASA chief Jim Bridenstine explains why aborting Crew Dragon mission was 'best decision'

NASA chief Jim Bridenstine acknowledged that there is “a lot of disappointment” after NASA-SpaceX Crew Dragon launch was aborted on May 27 due to unfavourable weather conditions. However, shifting the light to the positive aspect of ‘#LaunchAmerica’ being delayed, Bridenstine assured that it was a “great day” both for NASA and SpaceX and hailed the joint effort for making “good decisions”. 

After the offloading of the spacecraft was completed and US astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken were assisted out of the capsule, NASA chief explained in his statement that there was simply “too much electricity” in the atmosphere. And while there were no lightning storm or similar phenomenon, Bridenstine said that there were concerns that the momentous launch on May 27 at 4:33pm ET could “trigger lightning”. Therefore, Jim Bridenstine added that the mission being rescheduled to May 30 at 3:22pm ET was "best decision".

Read - NASA-SpaceX's Crew Dragon 'offloaded', US Astronauts Prepare To Exit

Bridenstine, who had previously hailed the NASA-SpaceX Crew Dragon mission as “Herculean task”, announced the postponement of the launch citing the safety of crew members. According to him, it was the “top priority” to ensure that Hurley and Behnken who had already buckled up for the mission in the capsule, were safe.

Read - NASA-SpaceX's Historic Manned Launch To ISS Aborted Due To Bad Weather; Here's What's Next

Trump thanks NASA, SpaceX For 'Hard Work’

After the unfavourable weather conditions forced the crew to call-off the historic mission, US President Donald Trump, who was there to witness the liftoff, thanked both NASA and SpaceX for their hard work as well as leadership. Even though the mission was cancelled just 16 minutes before the scheduled take-off time, Trump said that he is “looking forward” to join the launch which has now been moved to May 30.

US First Lady Melania Trump also acknowledged the rescheduling of the momentous mission that had millions glued to the live stream of the launch across social media platforms. She noted that the safety of the crew members “must come first” and even supported the decision of postponing the launch to another time when it can happen safely without any threats posed by the weather.

Read - Trump Thanks NASA, SpaceX For 'hard Work & Leadership' After Weather Delays Mission

Read - NASA-SpaceX 'Launch America' Mission LIVE: Bad Weather Forces Abort; Next Try In 3 Days

Image Source: AP