The company had been gearing up for a mission abort test that would have fired all eight of Crew Dragon's SuperDraco engines in mid-launch, showing that the capsule could get away from its host rocket in an emergency. That test was supposed to take place in June, but it's not certain this will happen on schedule in light of the incident. A crewed launch was supposed to take place as soon as July, but it seems likely the timeline will change for that as well.

NASA isn't deterred by the mishap. Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a statement that anomalies like this are "why we test," and that the space agency would "learn, make the necessary adjustments" and push forward with its Commercial Crew Program. Still, this clearly isn't what NASA wanted to hear months before it was poised to make history -- it's another reminder that the road to private human spaceflight has been perilous.