UAE's Rashid rover launch postponed for second day

SpaceX expected to set new launch date soon

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that will deliver the UAE's Rashid rover to space. Photo: Salem Al Marri Twitter

Salem Al Marri, director-general of the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, in Florida for the launch of the UAE's Rashid lunar rover. Sarwat Nasir / The National

Mr Al Marri believes the launch and arrival of the Rashid rover on the lunar surface could be a "big moment" for the Arab world. Sarwat Nasir / The National

A small team of Emirati engineers have developed the UAE's lunar mission. Here they are pictured inside the clean room, along with the Rashid rover, in the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre on June 15, 2022. Photo: MBRSC

The Hakuto-R Mission 1 lander, with the UAE's Rashid rover stored inside of it, was shipped to a Florida launch site late October, 2022. Photo: ispace

World Government Summit Rashid Rover that will be going to the moon. Antonie Robertson/The National

ispace's Hakuto-R Mission 1 lander, which has the UAE's Rashid rover on board, was integrated onto a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Photo: ispace

Takeshi Hakamada, founder and chief executive of ispace, said he felt confident that the company's lander, which is carrying the UAE's Rashid rover on board, would make a soft landing on the Moon in 2023. Sarwat Nasir / The National

SpaceX's launch and landing control centre in Cape Canaveral.

Officials are hopeful of sending the UAE's Rashid rover into space in the coming days after a second scheduled blast-off from Florida was cancelled early on Thursday.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Hakuto-R Mission 1 lander, with the UAE's Rashid rover inside it, was due to blast off at 12.37pm UAE time.

“After further inspections of the launch vehicle and data review, we're standing down from tomorrow's launch of @ispace_inc's HAKUTO-R Mission 1; a new target launch date will be shared once confirmed,” SpaceX wrote on Twitter.

Officials are hopeful of a new launch date in the coming days. An earlier launch on Wednesday was postponed.

Speaking earlier this week, Salem Al Marri, director general of the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, said the launch will be a “big moment” for the nation.

“It’s our smallest mission so far in terms of size, but with a huge impact … I think it impacts all segments of society,” he said of the Emirates, which sent an astronaut to the International Space Station in 2019 and the Hope probe to Mars last year.

Details about the next launch attempt are expected soon.