Washington: A technical glitch has forced SpaceX to postpone the launch of its Falcon 9 rocket, which was scheduled to carry a crew of four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). The launch, initially set for Thursday, March 13, has been rescheduled for no earlier than Friday, March 14, at 7:03 pm EDT (4:33 am IST).

According to NASA and SpaceX, the delay was caused by a hydraulic system issue with a ground support clamp arm for the Falcon 9 rocket at Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

The astronauts, including NASA's Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA's Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos' Kirill Peskov, have safely exited the Dragon spacecraft.

The SpaceX Crew Dragon was intended to replace NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who are currently stranded at the ISS. The mission aimed to minimize the use of consumables at the ISS by facilitating a quicker turnaround.

The new launch schedule will be confirmed pending further technical checks.