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The launch of a SpaceX rocket ship with two NASA astronauts on a history-making flight into orbit was called off with less than 17 minutes to go in the countdown Wednesday because of thunderclouds and the danger of lightning. Liftoff was rescheduled for Saturday afternoon (May 30). The spacecraff — designed, built and owned spacecraft by SpaceX — was set to blast off in the afternoon for the International Space Station, ushering in a new era in commercial spaceflight and putting NASA back in the business of launching astronauts from U.S. soil for the first time in nearly a decade. But thunderstorms for much of the day threatened to force a postponement, and the word finally came down that the atmosphere was so electrically charged that the spacecraft with NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken aboard was in danger of getting hit by a bolt of lightning. Both President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence had arrived to watch. Let us take a look at some of the images:
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NASA astronauts Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken were scheduled to ride aboard the SpaceX's sleek, bullet-shaped Dragon capsule on top of a Falcon 9 rocket, taking off from the same launch pad used during the Apollo moon missions a half-century ago. (Reuters Photo)
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The flight — the long-held dream of SpaceX founder Elon Musk — would have marked the first time a private company sent humans into orbit. (Reuters Photo)
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A SpaceX Falcon 9, with NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken in the Dragon crew capsule, prepare to lift off from Pad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The two astronauts are on the SpaceX test flight to the International Space Station. (NASA via AP)
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It would also have been the first time in nearly a decade that the United States launched astronauts into orbit from US soil. (AP Photo)
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Ever since the space shuttle was retired in 2011, NASA has relied on Russian spaceships launched from Kazakhstan to take US astronauts to and from the space station. (Reuters Photo)
Donald Trump looks at an area on a piece of equipment to sign during tour of NASA facilities before viewing the SpaceX Demonstration Mission 2 Launch at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. From left, second lady Karen Pence, Vice President Mike Pence, Trump, first lady Melania Trump, Michael Hawes, vice president of Lockheed Martin and Orion Project Manager, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and Kennedy Space Center director Bob Cabana. (AP Photo) 
US Vice President Mike Pence, his wife Karen, right, NASA administrator, Jim Bridenstine, center and CEO of SpaceX, Elon Musk, talk to the media. (AP Photo) -
The launch preparations took place in the shadow of the coronavirus outbreak that has killed an estimated 100,000 Americans. (Reuters Photo)
A man watches from Titusville, Fla. as SpaceX Falcon 9 prepares to lift off with NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken in the Dragon crew capsule from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Fla. The space agency also estimated 1.7 million people were watching the launch preparations online. (AP Photo) -
A screen showing the countdown is seen as SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center was scrubbed, in Cape Canaveral, Florida, US. (Reuters Photo)
