Launch of SpaceX Rocket Carrying UAE Astronaut to International Space Station Delayed

The launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket heading for the International Space Station catapulting a Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying four crew members to a six-month science mission, including an astronaut from the United Arab Emirates, was postponed on Monday, just two hours before its scheduled liftoff. The rocket’s flight was waved off until at least tomorrow due to a a problem related to the TEA-TEB ignition fluid, which is used to ignite the SpaceX Falcon 9’s rocket engines at liftoff. It is the sixth operational SpaceX space station mission. If the problem is resolved in time, the next window for launch is Tuesday morning. When it does launch, the rocket will carry an astronaut from the UAE, Sultan Al-Neyadi, 41, only the second person from his country to fly to space and the first to launch from US soil. He will be the first Emirati to be part of a long-duration space station team. The UAE’s first-ever astronaut launched to orbit in 2019 aboard a Russian spacecraft.