NASA, Soyuz MS-02 Postpone ISS Crew Launch Due to 'Technical Reason'

NASA is supposed to send a new batch of space crew to the International Space Station (ISS) using the Russian Soyuz MS-02 rocket. However, the launch has been postponed due to some "technical reason" as cited by the Russian Space Agency engineers.

The Russian Space Agency (RosCosMos) decided to delay the planned Sept. 23 rocket launch to send astronauts to the ISS. This was after the agency cited technical reason with regard to Soyuz MS-02, but no further elaborations were given.

"Roscosmos has decided to move the launch of Soyuz MS-02 ship planned for September 23 due to technical reasons after holding tests on the Baikonur Cosmodrome," a Roscosmos official said in a statement.

NASA also announced the delay of the next space station crew launch in a very brief press release. The agency referred to the Roscosmos website for further explanation on the matter.

After the delay of the scheduled launched, everyone is awaiting on further announcement as to when the next schedule will be set, however, there is still no date given until today. The delay has garnered the attention of the scientific community. It could also mean that rocket engineers are also being extra careful after a recent SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded in Cape Canaveral Air Force Base in Florida, destroying an Israel-made Facebook Internet satellite.

The new batch of astronauts includes NASA's Shane Kimbrough and Russian cosmonauts Sergei Ryzhikov and Andrei Borisenko. The three are almost ready for their space duty and are said to be in the final stages of their training at the Baikonur launch pad in Kazakhstan.

Last Sept. 7, Soyuz TMA-20M managed to bring home three astronauts back to Earth as scheduled. Cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin, Oleg Skripochka and astronaut Jeffrey Williams were aboard the said rocket that landed in Kazakhstan.

While waiting for the new date for the rocket launch that will send the new batch of space crew to space, the crew inside the ISS , namely Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi and NASA astronaut Kathleen Rubins, will continue to man the station and perform scientific experiments.