Cape Canaveral - US space agency Nasa said it postponed until Friday the launch of its Orion spaceship, citing high winds and faulty drain valves.
Technicians failed to fix the valve problem in time for scheduled liftoff, forcing Nasa to put off the four-and-a-half-hour test flight that was expected to mark the beginning a new era of space exploration.
Nasa announced a re-scheduled launch time shortly after Thursday's window for takeoff. Opportunities for liftoff are highly dependent on meteorological conditions.
“The launch team has tentatively set a liftoff time of (Friday), 7:05 a.m. EST, the opening of a 2-hour, 39 minute window just as today,” Nasa said on its website after announcing the cancellation.
Once launched, it will take 17 minutes for the Delta IV Heavy rocket, built by United Launch Alliance, to reach the Earth's orbit.
The rocket is engineered to reach the speed of sound one minute and 25 seconds into the flight. Shortly after, it will shed two of its boosters and later the third.
The flight is slated to circumnavigate Earth twice. On the second circumferential orbit, the rocket will reach thousands of kilometres into space.
“Orion is being designed to carry astronauts on exploration missions into deep space, including a trip to an asteroid and eventually to Mars,” according to Nasa. - Sapa-dpa