NASA-SpaceX's Crew Dragon 'offloaded', US astronauts prepare to exit

Just 16 minutes before the countdown for the ‘historic’ NASA-SpaceX Dragon Crew launch was scheduled to begin, the mission was called off due to unfavourable weather conditions and "danger of lightning". The liftoff has been rescheduled for the “next opportunity” on May 30 at 3:22 pm EDT. As of now, NASA informed that the spacecraft has been "offloaded” and the entire launch system is “disarmed” while both  US astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken are preparing to exit from the capsule.

The weather conditions had started sounding an alarm hours before the scheduled takeoff at 4:33 pm ET on May 27. Nevertheless, Hurley and Behnken had buckled up in the Dragon Crew capsule on the top of 230-foot SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket for ‘#LaunchAmerica’ mission. NASA also elaborated that even though millions were hoping to witness the giant leap of ‘revolutionising’ the commercial space travel on May 27, the launch window was “instantaneous”.

From Twitter to YouTube, the event was being live-streamed on all social media platforms with people ready to "usher in the new era since 2011". It was even viewed by US President Donald Trump and his Vice President Mike Pence. However, the mission has now been delayed due to “orbital mechanics” and another attempt to launch the astronauts to space aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule as part of the Demo-2 test flight to the International Space Station will be made on Saturday.

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First crewed mission from the US since 2011

With this mission, NASA would launch its first crewed mission from US soil in almost 10 years (since 2011). This is also the first time that it had allowed a private company like Elon Musk's SpaceX, to run the entire show but the weather conditions delayed the plans. 

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk who was there at the launch site, had hailed the accomplishment as his “dream come true” before it was aborted. The two NASA astronauts were seen smiling, waving and giving the thumbs up as they debuted in the SpaceX spacesuit and buckled up in the commercially built capsule. 

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine had lauded the entire mission as a “herculean task” and called it a “monumental achievement”. It was also revealed that the designing of the SpaceX Dragon capsule was started from scratch at least 12 years ago to travel to the Space Station. 

Bridenstine had said that NASA let the “commercial industry innovate” and that led to solutions that were ‘undreamed of before’. According to the NASA Administrator, that aspect remains the ‘real success’ of the #LaunchAmerica.

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