US: Trump hails 'exciting day' before launch postponed

Moments before the historic SpaceX launch was scrubbed due to weather at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, President Donald Trump hailed the moment as "a very exciting day for our country."

Still, sitting with SpaceX founder Elon Musk and NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine at a pre-launch briefing, Trump said it was too early to celebrate.

"We won't say congratulations because we have a long way to go," Trump said. "But it looks, looks magnificent" he said of the rocket ship that was to carry two American astronauts into orbit.

A few minutes later, the launch was called off with 16 minutes to go in the countdown because of the danger of lightning. Liftoff is rescheduled for Saturday.

The SpaceX spacecraft was set to blast off Wednesday afternoon for the International Space Station, marking the first time a private company sent humans into orbit and putting NASA back in the business of launching astronauts from U.S. soil for the first time in nearly a decade.

Ever since the space shuttle was retired in 2011, NASA has relied on Russian rockets to carry astronauts to and from the space station.

Bridenstine said the historic public-private partnership is "bringing America back as it relates to human spaceflight."

America "needs to lead the world," Bridenstine said to Trump. "You put us in a position to do that. And we're grateful."