SpaceX's first astronaut launch postponed

SpaceX decided to postpone its Demo-2 launch as unfavorable weather conditions in the region posed risks to the equipment and crew.

 Liftoff, which was originally scheduled for 4:33 p.m. May 27, is now moved to the afternoon of May 30.

The launch director of the SpaceX rocket set to lift off on Wednesday decided to delay the mission about 20 minutes before its scheduled departure time due to severe weather in the region.

Officials postponed the launch of the capsule, named Crew Dragon, due to the risks posed to equipment and crew by a tropical depression that’s now battering South Carolina with rain and high winds.

The astronauts were to have blasted off from the same launch pad used in 2011 by NASA’s final space shuttle flight, which was piloted by Hurley. Since then, NASA astronauts have had to hitch rides into orbit aboard Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft, Reuters reported.

For Elon Musk, who is also CEO of electric carmaker Tesla Inc, the first manned SpaceX launch represents another milestone for the reusable rockets his company pioneered to make space flight less costly. SpaceX, founded by Musk in 2002 and formally known as Space Exploration Technologies, has never previously flown humans into orbit, only cargo.

It also would mark the first time commercially developed space vehicles - owned and operated by a private entity rather than NASA - have carried Americans into orbit.