MOSCOW, March 23 (RIA Novosti) – The return of the US Dragon space freighter from the International Space Station (ISS) to Earth has been postponed by one day due to poor weather conditions, NASA reported Friday.
“More than three weeks after arriving at the station, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is ready for the trip back to Earth, now scheduled for Tuesday, March 26,” NASA said on its website.
“Dragon's return date, originally scheduled for March 25, was postponed due to inclement weather developing near its targeted splashdown site in the Pacific Ocean,” it said.
A Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon spacecraft blasted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on March 1. The docking with the space station was performed on March 3, one day later than scheduled due to a thruster failure.
It was the second of at least 12 flights to the ISS that US private company SpaceX carried out under its $1.6 billion Commercial Resupply Services contract.
Last year, the Dragon made a demonstration flight to the space station in May and carried out the first resupply mission in October, delivering more than 450 kg (1,000 pounds) of cargo to the ISS.
Dragon’s third mission to the space station is expected in the fall of 2013. The spacecraft will be launched on board a modernized version of the Falcon 9 rocket.
The Dragon is a reusable spacecraft developed by SpaceX to fly cargo to the ISS after NASA retired its space shuttle fleet last year. The spacecraft is capable of carrying more than 7,000 pounds (3,175 kg) of cargo split between pressurized and unpressurized sections, according to NASA.
