SpaceX Dragon cargo craft to dock with space station today

Image credit: NASA

New Delhi: It's going to be another busy day for crew members aboard the International Space Station (ISS) as they await the arrival of SpaceX Dragon cargo craft at their temporary residence Thursday.

SpaceX Dragon cargo craft's rendezvous to the space station was aborted early Wednesday morning after the spacecraft’s computers received an incorrect navigational update, triggering an automatic wave off.

However, Dragon will make its second rendezvous attempt on Thursday. NASA and SpaceX flight controllers in Houston and Hawthorne, California are reworking plans for the smooth arrival of SpaceX Dragon cargo.

NASA says Expedition 50 commander Shane Kimbrough and Thomas Pesquet will be back in the cupola today waiting to capture Dragon at around 6 a.m. While Flight Engineer Peggy Whitson will be assisting the duo monitoring Dragon’s arrival and its systems.

NASA TV will cover Dragon's second rendezvous attempt beginning at 4 a.m. EST.

Meanwhile, a few hours before Dragon aborted its rendezvous, an unpiloted Russian resupply ship - lProgress 66 (66P) – was launched from Kazakhstan on a two-day trip to the station’s Pirs docking compartment.

The Progress 66, paccked with nearly three tons of food, fuel and supplies for the six-member Expedition 50 crew, will arrive Friday for an automated docking at 3:34 a.m. and stay at the station until June.