SpaceX delays flight to replace stranded astronauts after launch pad problem

A launch pad problem has prompted SpaceX to delay a flight to the International Space Station to replace Nasa’s two stranded astronauts.

The new crew needs to get to the ISS before Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams can head home after nine months in orbit.

Concerns over a critical hydraulic system arose less than four hours before the Falcon rocket’s planned lift-off from Nasa’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on Wednesday.

Officials later said the launch was off until at least Friday.

As the countdown clocks ticked down, engineers evaluated the hydraulics used to release one of the two arms clamping the rocket to its support structure. This structure needs to tilt back right before lift-off.

Already strapped into their capsule, the four astronauts awaited a final decision, which came with less than an hour remaining in the countdown, with SpaceX cancelling for the day.

The company did not announce a new launch date, but noted the next try could be as early as Thursday night.

Once at the space station, the US, Japanese and Russian crew will replace Mr Wilmore and Ms Williams, who have been up there since June.

The two test pilots had to move into the space station for an extended stay after Boeing’s new Starliner capsule encountered major breakdowns in transit.

Starliner’s debut crew flight was supposed to last just a week, but Nasa ordered the capsule to return empty and transferred Mr Wilmore and Ms Williams to SpaceX for the return leg.