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June 3 (UPI) — Due to weather conditions in Florida, the SpaceX Dragon cargo mission launch has been delayed. The new launch date is set for Sunday, which coincides with the planned launch of a new batch of Starlink satellites by the company.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is now scheduled to launch at 12:12 p.m. on Sunday to deliver an automated Dragon cargo capsule to the International Space Station.
However, there is a 60% chance that the weather will not be suitable for launch on Sunday. The odds were initially 70% for the original launch date on Saturday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Florida’s Atlantic coast.
Tropical Storm Arlene weakened to a tropical depression on Saturday morning, but still had sustained winds of 35 miles per hour, 145 miles west-southwest of Dry Tortugas National Park.
“A turn to the east is expected by tonight, and that motion should continue until the system dissipates,” stated the National Hurricane Center in its latest update. “Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 35 mph with higher gusts. Continued weakening is forecast and Arlene is expected to become a remnant low later today.”
The Dragon spacecraft is carrying approximately 7,000 pounds of supplies to the ISS, including science experiments and fresh food. This mission would mark the 28th SpaceX resupply mission to the orbiting laboratory.
The payload also includes six new Roll Out Solar Arrays, which will help power the ISS. These solar arrays have a price tag of $103 million and will be installed over two future space walks, increasing the station’s power supply by 30%.
In addition, SpaceX has another mission scheduled earlier in the day to deploy Starlink satellites. This mission, using a Falcon 9 rocket, is set to launch from nearby Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 5:56 a.m. EDT on Sunday.
The launch is dependent on weather conditions and has backup launch windows at 6:49 a.m., 7:36 a.m., and 8:30 a.m. Once the rocket is airborne, it will deploy 22 of SpaceX’s second-generation Starlink Internet satellites. There are also backup launch opportunities on Monday.
