On Thursday, June 1, SpaceX was in an attempt to send its first-ever cargo delivery to the astronauts to provide food, supplies, and science experiments. Unfortunately, a lightning strike near Cape Canaveral forced the company to delay until Saturday.
Although the lighting happened almost 25 minutes before launch, it did not hit any of SpaceX’s equipment but happened within 10 miles (16 kilometers) of the launch pad.
NASA spokesman Mike Curie said, “The lightning flight rule requires 30 minutes for you to clear that before it is safe to launch. The weather has gotten us today.”
This Dragon cargo ship has almost 6,000 pounds of science research, crew supplies, hardware, solar panels, and equipment to study neutron stars. The supplies involve live mice to study the effects of osteoporosis and fruit flies for research on microgravity’s impact on the heart.
Now, according to reports “The next opportunity for SpaceX’s 11th commercial resupply mission aboard an unmanned Dragon cargo ship is now 5:07 pm (2107 GMT) on Saturday. Nasa will broadcast it live on their website.”
This gumdrop-shaped Dragon spaceship was overhauled after previously delivering food and supplies to the International Space Station (ISS) in September 2014. Later, it splashed back into the ocean intact.
Hans Koenigsmann, SpaceX’s vice president of mission assurance, said, “The majority of this Dragon has been in space before. However, we have replaced the heat shield.”
However, SpaceX is putting significant effort into reusing rockets by powering their first-stage engines. The company’s long-running strategy was to make space flight cheaper and more environmentally friendly.
About 10 minutes after Saturday’s launch, the company will attempt to land the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket on solid ground back at Cape Canaveral.
NASA said, “The weather forecast for Saturday is 60 percent favorable.”
