Launch Now Scheduled For Saturday At 0447 EST

The fifth official SpaceX cargo mission to the International Space Station under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services contract now is scheduled to launch at 0447 EST Saturday, Jan. 10, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The previous launch attempt on Tuesday was aborted with one minute, 21 seconds left on the countdown clock because engineers observed drift on one of two thrust vector control actuators for the Falcon 9’s second stage and stopped the countdown.

A Saturday launch will result in the Dragon spacecraft arriving at the space station Monday, Jan. 12. Expedition 42 Commander Barry "Butch" Wilmore of NASA will use the station's 57.7-foot robotic arm to capture Dragon at approximately 6 a.m. Flight Engineer Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency will support Wilmore as they operate from the station's cupola.

If the launch does not take place Saturday, the next launch opportunity would be Tuesday, Jan. 13 at about 0336.

Dragon's cargo will support more than 250 experiments that will be conducted by the space station’s Expeditions 42 and 43 crews.

(Image from file)

FMI: www.nasa.gov/spacex