'Done everything to ensure your dads come back', Musk told astronauts' children

We’ve done everything we could to make sure your dads come back, entrepreneur and SpaceX founder Elon Musk had told the children of two NASA astronauts ahead of their launch into the space that was called off due to unfavourable weather conditions.

Two hours ahead of the scheduled liftoff at 2.03 am IST, Musk spoke on NASA TV. Musk said he had felt responsible for Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley—the NASA astronauts who were then inside the Crew Dragon spacecraft developed by SpaceX.

Elon Musk called Falcon 9 a well-proven rocket as it had gone through “thousands and thousands of tests and reviews”.

“I felt it most strongly when I saw their families just before coming here,” he said. Musk had earlier told CBS, in an interview, that he was chief engineer of the mission. “…if it goes right, it’s credit to the SpaceX-NASA team. If it goes wrong, it’s my fault,” he said.

However, he called Falcon 9 a well-proven rocket as it had gone through thousands and thousands of tests and reviews.

Standing down from launch today due to unfavorable weather in the flight path. Our next launch opportunity is Saturday, May 30 at 3:22 p.m. EDT, or 19:22 UTC

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 27, 2020

The Demo-2 mission was called off 17 minutes ahead of the scheduled liftoff. The mission gains significance as NASA was set to launch astronauts into the orbit from American soil after a decade. after the NASA shut down the country’s space shuttle program in 2011

It will also be the first-ever crewed mission for SpaceX in the company’s 18-year history. The launch is likely to happen at 12.52 am IST on May 31.