Moscow, Mar. 22, (dpa/GNA) – The launch of a Soyuz rocket with a US astronaut and two cosmonauts from Russia and Belarus on board was unexpectedly aborted on Thursday.
The Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft was due to take off on its mission to the International Space Station (ISS) from the Russian Baikonur Cosmodrome in the steppe of Kazakhstan at 1321 GMT.
The Russian space agency Roscosmos later cited technical problems as the reason for the launch cancellation.
Shortly before takeoff, a voltage drop in a power source was detected, Roscosmos boss Yury Borisov said, according to the Russian news agency Interfax.
The crew was safely taken out of the capsule.
The next possible launch would be on Saturday at the earliest, NASA TV said.
On board the spacecraft were Belarusian cosmonaut Marina Vasilevskaya, NASA astronaut Tracy Dyson and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky. Vasilevskaya would be the first woman from her country to go to space.
Meanwhile in the US, SpaceX launched its 30th cargo mission to the ISS on Thursday, carrying 3 tons of supplies and scientific hardware.
A Falcon 9 rocket carrying an uncrewed Cargo Dragon spacecraft lifted off from Cape Canaveral in Florida. It is expected to dock with the ISS on Saturday.