The clogged filter explained the abnormal data engineers had seen on launch day, NASA said.īenji Reed, SpaceX’s director of crew mission management, said that reviews of the data found that the rocket probably would have taken off without a hitch despite the clogged filter, though flight controllers didn’t have enough data during the countdown to be certain. “After a thorough review of the data and ground system, NASA and SpaceX determined there was a reduced flow back to the ground TEA-TEB catch tank due to a clogged ground filter,” according to an update from NASA posted to its website early Wednesday. Hubble Space Telescope captured 'movie' of spacecraft slamming into asteroid The problem arose as the fluid moved from a holding tank on the ground into a “catch tank,” according to NASA.ĭidymos-Dimorphos system, from top: September 27, 1:06:21, T + 1.9 hrs September 28, 17:06:51, T + 1.7 days October 8, 19:62:10, T + 11.9 days The issue occurred during the “bleed-in” process, which is meant to ensure that each of the Falcon 9 rocket’s nine engines will be fed with enough of the TEA-TEB fluid when it’s time for ignition. The engineers said they detected an issue with a substance called triethylaluminum triethylboron, or TEA-TEB, a highly combustible fluid that is used to ignite the Falcon 9 rocket’s engines at liftoff. The first launch attempt was grounded on Monday by what officials said was a clogged filter.ĭuring the launch broadcast, officials had reported that ground systems engineers made the decision to call off the launch with less than three minutes on the clock. Thursday’s launch marked the second attempt to get this mission, called Crew-6, off the ground. The capsule is slated to dock at 1:17 a.m. The Crew Dragon, the vehicle carrying the astronauts, detached from the rocket after reaching orbit, and it’s expected to spend about one day maneuvering through space before linking up with the space station. The mission - which is carrying two NASA astronauts, a Russian cosmonaut and an astronaut from the United Arab Emirates - took off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida at 12:34 a.m. SpaceX and NASA launched a fresh crew of astronauts on a mission to the International Space Station, kicking off a roughly six-month stay in space.

Nasa spacex launch live dec 2017