Sultan Al Neyadi joked that he promised his children he would be home from space soon — but not the same day he was due for lift-off.
The Emirati astronaut said the Crew-6 team took Monday's postponement — which saw the six-month mission to the International Space Station called off with less than three minutes to go — in their stride.
"I promised my kids to return soon and I didn’t mean this soon!" he wrote on Twitter.
"Anyway, our crew is safe and our spirits are high. A launch scrub is one of the things that we are trained to do, as crew safety is always a priority."
The Crew-6 astronauts sat in the Dragon capsule for several hours while the Falcon 9 rocket that carries it was emptied of fuel to allow for a safe exit.
The mission is provisionally scheduled for 9.34am UAE time on Thursday, pending a probe into the fault that affected Monday's take-off.
