SpaceX Dragon Cargo Resupply Spacecraft Delayed Due to Unfavorable Weather
SpaceX Dragon cargo resupply spacecraft has been delayed from its planned undocking from the International Space Station (ISS) on Saturday, December 16, due to unfavorable weather conditions. A new undocking date has been set for Sunday, December 17, at 5:05 p.m. EST.
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The SpaceX Dragon cargo resupply spacecraft has been postponed from its planned undocking from the International Space Station (ISS) on Saturday, December 16, due to unfavorable weather conditions. A new undocking date has been set for Sunday, December 17, at 5:05 p.m. EST.
The decision to delay the undocking was made by NASA and SpaceX after consulting with meteorologists who were tracking a cold front that was approaching the splashdown zones off the coast of Florida. The Dragon spacecraft will be automatically undocked from the ISS and will parachute into the ocean for recovery.
In the meantime, the seven Expedition 70 astronauts have been busy with a variety of activities, including transferring frozen research samples from station science freezers into science cargo freezers, loading trash and discarded items inside Northrop Grumman's Cygnus space freighter, and servicing and inspecting a diverse range of science, computer, and mission hardware.
The Expedition 70 astronauts are also continuing their health checks and lab maintenance activities. Astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli from NASA processed bacteria samples inside the Kibo laboratory module's Life Science Glovebox to learn how to control microbial growth in microgravity. The Bacteria Adhesion and Corrosion experiment is exploring how to identify and disinfect microbes that can contaminate spacecraft systems and affect crew health.
Astronaut Satoshi Furukawa from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) installed a multipurpose experiment platform for placement inside the Kibo laboratory module's airlock. Astronaut Loral O'Hara assisted with the Cygnus cargo transfers while getting a health check and working on lab upkeep tasks.
Cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub joined each other after breakfast scanning their stomachs with an ultrasound device for a Roscosmos study investigating microgravity's effect on digestion. Kononenko moved on to afternoon inspections in the Zvezda service module while Chub replaced smoke detectors inside the Poisk module.
