A number of issues, like technical difficulties, delayed the launch of NASA's new exploration capsule on its first test flight at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
A scheduled 7:05 a.m. launch was delayed when a boat drifted into the launch zone, and then a minor technical issue with the rocket was cleared.
New launch times for the Exploration Flight Test-1 mission were set for 7:17 a.m. and 7:55 a.m. Both countdowns were automatically stopped by computers with less than four minutes to go because of strong winds.
An 8:26 a.m. launch was put on hold after NASA said a fuel and drain valve failed to close properly. A new liftoff time has not been set, according to the Associated Press. The last countdown was stalled with just 3:09 to go as launch controllers hurried to try fixing the issue before the morning launch window closed.
The valves control the flow of the liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen in the three first-stage booster engines, according to NASA. The propellants work together to ignite with the explosive force needed to thrust the rocket toward space.
The unmanned Orion capsule will eventually launch for the first time atop a 243-foot United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket.
NASA is looking to launch the test capsule 3,600 miles up during two orbits, setting up a 20,000-mph re-entry through the atmosphere before it splashes down in the Pacific Ocean some four-and-a-half hours after liftoff, according to a company release.
The space agency working on Orion to fly astronauts to deep space destinations, like an asteroid and Mars. They want the first flight with astronauts to take place around 2021.
Lockheed Martin Corp., which is running the $370 million test flight for NASA, chose to go with the Delta IV rocket this time around. Future missions will likely rely on NASA's mega Space Launch System rocket.
NASA's last journey past low-Earth orbit in a vessel built for people was Apollo 17 in December 1972.
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