The crash of a giant research balloon in Alice Springs last week is causing indefinite delays to the programme.
The ABC reports the space balloon was carrying two tonnes of scientific instruments when it crashed during its launch on Thursday.
The payload hit a car and narrowly missed crushing several observers.
Launch centre director Ravi Sood said an investigation into the accident will be completed later this week.
He said the crash was a big loss to the research team and it will take a long time to put the whole experiment together again - it could be months and even years.
