A RESUPPLY mission to the International Space Station has been grounded indefinitely due to a fuel leak coming from the SpaceX-manufactured Dragon capsule.
The leak was spotted just before the ship was to be assembled on the launch pad.
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The Dragon is SpaceX’s reusable space capsule that can fit up to seven people – it has 16 engines affixed to the bottom for navigating spaceflight.
Engineers noticed “elevated vapor readings” of the capsule’s explosive fuel and today’s launch was called off.
The fuel was removed from the section of the spacecraft experiencing technical issues.
“Once the exact source of the elevated readings is identified and cause is determined, the joint Nasa and SpaceX teams will determine and announce a new target launch date,” Nasa said.
When the resupply mission does launch, an unmanned capsule will carry a payload containing 4,500 pounds of food and supplies to the ISS, according to Space Flight Now.
Fortunately, the astronauts currently onboard are not in dire straights – a resupply mission organized by Russia arrived at the door of the ISS on June 3rd.
The resupply mission, known as CRS-25, is the fifth flight in the second commercial agreement between Nasa and SpaceX.
TechCrunch reported that SpaceX earned $3billion for 20 missions to the ISS under the first contract between the private space contractor and the United States’ public-owned space agency.
This specific Dragon capsule has been to the ISS on two other occasions.
Perhaps the recent malfunctions are a sign of wear and tear on the reusable spacecraft.
SpaceX will move forward with other launches scheduled for this today.
A Falcon 9 rocket is aiming to take off from Cape Canaveral just after 5:00PM and deposit a satellite in orbit over Egypt.
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