SpaceX Falcon9 and Dragon Cargo Craft Launch Scrubbed

Monday's launch attempt of the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft, loaded with nearly 5,000 pounds of supplies for the International Space Station's Expedition 39 crew, was scrubbed due to a helium leak on the Falcon 9 first stage. 

The next launch opportunity would be Friday, April 18 at 3:25 p.m. EDT if the issue can be resolved.

The launch of the third SpaceX Dragon commercial resupply services mission from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida will send the vehicle on course to rendezvous with the station several days later.

Commander Koichi Wakata and Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio will capture the space freighter using the Canadarm2 robotic arm to set it up for its berthing to the Earth-facing port of the Harmony module.

Mission managers and SpaceX had agreed Sunday to proceed with Monday's launch attempt despite the loss Friday of a multiplexer demultiplexer (MDM) backup computer relay system in the S0 truss that assists in providing insight into truss systems, the operation of the external cooling loops, the operations of the Solar Alpha Rotary joints and the Mobile Transporter rail car.

Orbital Science Corporation Antares rocket raised into position

This NASA handout photo shows the Orbital Science Corporation Antares rocket seen as it is raised into position at launch Pad-0A, on December 16, 2013, at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Virginia

With the space station cooling system hobbled and a commercial cargo launch waiting in the wings, NASA Tuesday prepared all options but said no decision had yet been made on whether spacewalk repairs would be needed.

Instead, Orbital Sciences rolled its Antares rocket out to the launch pad at Wallops Island, Virginia in preparation for a Thursday launch of its Cygnus supply ship at 9:19 pm (0219 GMT).

Meanwhile, NASA television showed images of astronauts preparing their white spacesuits in case they are called upon to step outside the space station and repair the broken equipment cooling system.

A US space agency spokesman told reporters a final decision could come later Tuesday or early Wednesday.

On Wednesday of last week, NASA learned that a broken valve had interfered with the cooling loops that regulate the equipment temperature aboard the space station.

The six-man crew was never in danger due to the problem, NASA said.

If the agency decides the manuevers it has made from the ground to orchestrate a temporary fix—by manipulating valves and shutting down some equipment—are stable, the Orbital launch could go ahead.

Orbital Sciences' privately owned cargo ship would then start its journey on its first regular commercial mission to supply the orbiting outpost Thursday, berthing at the space station on Sunday at 4:52 am (0952 GMT).

The company did a demonstration launch and berthing at the ISS in September, showing it was capable of the mission and paving the way for more supply trips.

When NASA lost its capacity to reach space with the retirement of the 30-year shuttle program in 2011, Orbital and SpaceX stepped in to fill the void with their privately made, unmanned supply spacecraft.

Both companies have lucrative contracts with the US space agency to ferry supplies to the ISS.

Soyuz Progress mission 51P Launches to ISS from Baikonur

Main engine ignition. Credit: NASA TV

Russian Progress cargo craft launched on a two-day track in pursuit of the International Space Station, reverting back to the old rendezvous style in preference to the six-hour sprint, employed recently.


Update: Once in orbit, an antenna used as a navigational aid on the Progress did not deploy. Russian ground controllers are assessing a fix.

Loaded with 3.1 tons of food, fuel and supplies, the freighter was boosted into orbit atop an unmanned Russian Soyuz booster from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 6:12 a.m. EDT (1012 GMT).

The space station was located over the South Atlantic at the moment of launch.

The preliminary orbit was achieved after a nine-minute ascent provided by the three-stage rocket, and onboard commands were issued to unfurl the craft's communications and navigation antennas and extend two power-generating solar arrays that span 35 feet.

A series of precise engine firings over the next two days will guide the Progress toward an automated rendezvous with the station for docking Friday at 8:26 a.m. EDT (1226 GMT).

"Unlike its three predecessors, this Progress M-19M cargo craft is relegated to the typical two-day rendezvous because of the phasing and orbital mechanics associated with this launch date," NASA said.

The 24-foot long ship will attach itself to the aft port of the Zvezda service module, which became available last week when a previous Progress flew away to fly solo for daily thruster firings to help ground controllers in Russia calibrate radar systems before its eventual de-orbiting into the South Pacific on Sunday.

Today's launch was known in the station's assembly matrix as Progress mission 51P.

The spacecraft's formal Russian designation is Progress M-19M.

The craft will bring nearly three tons of supplies to the station.

The "dry" cargo tucked aboard the Progress amounts to 3,483 pounds in the form of food, spare parts, life support gear and experiment hardware.

The refueling module carries 1,764 pounds of propellant for transfer into the Russian segment of the complex to feed the station's maneuvering thrusters. The vessel also has 926 pounds of water and 48 pounds of oxygen and 57 pounds of air.

The cosmonauts will be standing by Friday to take over manual control of the approaching Progress spacecraft if the autopilot experiences a problem. They spent time Thursday checking out the backup system.