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NASA astronaut on scrubbed launch: 'You never know what day you're really going to launch'

By Victor Garcia Fox News
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Astronaut Rex Walheim on uncertainty of launch dates Video

Astronaut Rex Walheim on uncertainty of launch dates

SpaceX launch scrubbed due to weather; NASA astronaut Rex Walheim weighs in.

NASA astronaut Rex Walheim joined "Your World with Neil Cavuto" Wednesday to discuss the scrubbed launch of a SpaceX rocket that would have carried to NASA astronauts to the International Space Station.

"It's a range of emotions during a launch day because you never know what day you're really going to launch," Walheim told host Neil Cavuto. "You have a scheduled launch day, but you don't know what it's going to be like. So you prepare and you prepare like you are here for the Super Bowl. But you don't know what day the Super Bowl is on.

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"So they're used to this kind of thing and they know this is a possibility. So they'll be able to head back to crew quarters, prepare a little bit more, get a little more sleep and be ready to go for the next launch," Walheim added.

Astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken were scheduled to launch at 4:33 p.m. EDT from the Kennedy Space Center’s launch pad 39A, which was also used for the Apollo and space shuttle programs. What was to have been the first manned spaceflight launched from U.S. soil since 2011, was called off with 16 minutes and 54 seconds to go before liftoff.

The next launch attempt will be on Saturday at 3:22 p.m. EDT.

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Cavuto asked Walheim why observers say the flight from Earth to the International Space Station could take anywhere from a few weeks to a month.

"It depends on how the vehicle operates ... they're going to test all the systems out," Walheim said. "And one of the systems they definitely need to test out is the solar rays on the Dragon capsule."

Walheim also said that having three astronauts on the space station "allows us to get a lot more science done and also the chance ... to do some spacewalks."

Fox News' James Rogers contributed to this report.