Thick clouds over Florida's Kennedy Space Center forced SpaceX to abort Thursday's highly anticipated Crew-11 mission to the International Space Station just 67 seconds before liftoff. The multinational crew – comprising astronauts from the U.S., Japan, and Russia – will now wait until Friday for their next launch window, though meteorologists predict only 30% favorable weather conditions.
The delay comes as NASA works to maintain continuous human presence aboard the ISS, with this crew scheduled to replace current residents who've been orbiting Earth since March. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, currently overseeing NASA operations, observed the scrubbed launch attempt firsthand as shifting winds transformed initially clear skies into an impassable cloud layer.
SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule remain ready for Friday's 3:14 AM EDT attempt. The successful completion of this $3 billion NASA partnership mission will mark another milestone in commercial spaceflight's growing role in global scientific collaboration.
