SpaceX's planned launch of a mission to the International Space Station (ISS) was cancelled due to last-minute technical issues.
The private American space exploration company founded by billionaire Elon Musk had planned to launch a mission for NASA on Monday with four astronauts onboard.
But the countdown was halted when there were only two minutes left until liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The technical problem related to the engine ignition system, and it was determined there was no time to resolve it before the scheduled launch time.
A few hours later, it was announced that the next launch attempt will take place at 12.34am ET (5.34pm GMT) on March 2, "pending resolution of the technical issue".
It is possible the delay will last for a few days due to the poor weather conditions forecast.
The four astronauts who were meant to fly to the ISS were two NASA astronauts, one Russian cosmonaut, and one astronaut from the United Arab Emirates.
They were strapped into the capsule atop the Falcon rocket, which was supposed to take them to the ISS.
The crew, which included Sultan al-Neyadi, the first astronaut from the United Arab Emirates to be assigned to a monthslong mission, was scheduled to replace another SpaceX crew that had flown to the space station in October.
When SpaceX informed the crew that the fuel would start to be drained from the rocket, the commander, Stephen Bowen, responded by saying, "We'll be sitting here waiting."
It was expected to take nearly an hour to drain the fuel from the rocket.
Officials said the problem involved ground equipment used for loading the engine ignition fluid.
The launch team could not be sure there was a full load.
A SpaceX engineer likened this critical system to spark plugs for a car.
Alneyadi, a father of six, is the second Emirati to venture into space. However, he is the first Emirati to be named for a full-duration six-month stay aboard the space station.
During his expedition, two Saudi fliers will visit the lab complex for approximately a week as part of a commercial mission managed by Houston-based Axiom Space.
Upon arriving at the Kennedy Space Center last week, Alneyadi expressed his enthusiasm for the upcoming expedition, stating that it would be "extremely fascinating".
"I think it's going to be really interesting," Alneyadi said after arriving at the Kennedy Space Center last week.
"It's for the sake of science, for the sake of spreading the knowledge about how important it is to fly (in space) and to push the boundaries of exploration, not only in the leading countries.
"Our region is also thirsty to learn more. And I think we will be ambassadors in these missions. Hopefully, we can come back with knowledge and share whatever we learn with everybody."
Upon takeoff, Bowen and his team will be greeted on the station by Crew-5 commander Nicole Mann, Josh Cassada, Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, and cosmonaut Anna Kikina, who became the first Russian to launch aboard a Crew Dragon when they arrived at the station last October.
They plan to return to Earth on or around March 6, marking the end of their 151-day mission.
Crew-6 fliers will also receive a warm welcome from Sergey Prokopyev, Dmitri Petelin, and NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, who launched to ISS in September of the previous year with plans to return in March.
However, their Soyuz MS-22 ferry ship suffered a catastrophic failure on December 14 when a presumed micrometeoroid damaged a coolant line.
After analyzing the damage, Russian engineers concluded that the spacecraft could not be safely used again, as there was a risk of sensitive systems overheating.
As a result, a replacement Soyuz spacecraft, MS-23, was launched last Thursday, carrying equipment and supplies instead of a crew.
The spacecraft successfully docked with the station on Saturday night, providing Prokopyev and his crewmates with a safe ride home.
However, to get the crew rotation schedule back on track, the trio will have to spend an additional six months in space and come back to Earth this fall after a full year in orbit.
They will spend most of that time sharing the station with Crew-6.
