Dec 8, 2010 15:43 GMT  ·  By

Officials at the Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) announce that they have aborted the first December 8 launch attempt of their new unmanned space capsule, called Dragon.

The spacecraft was supposed to take off at 9:06 am EST (1406 GMT) from Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), in Florida, but the countdown was stopped at around T-3 minutes.

According to CCAFS and SpaceX mission managers, the next attempt could take place as early as 10:38 am EST (1538 GMT) today. The third and final launch window opens at 1716 GMT.

“We did have an abort in the terminal countdown sequence. We're evaluating what the abort condition was,” says SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket product director John Insprucker, quoted by Space.

After numerous delays, the maiden flight of the Dragon cargo capsule was scheduled for December 7, but engineers at the Hawthorne, California-based company discovered a problem on one of the nine Merlin engines powering the Falcon 9 medium-lift delivery system.

Officials at the corporation are not despairing over the delay. They are very confident in the ultimate success of their spacecraft.

“When Dragon returns, whether on this mission or a future one, it will herald the dawn of an incredibly exciting new era in space travel,” says SpaceX CEO and PayPal co-founder Elon Musk.

“This will be the first new American human-capable spacecraft to travel to orbit and back since the Space Shuttle took flight three decades ago,” adds in a statement.

Under a $1.3 billion contract signed with NASA, the company needs to conduct the first demo flight of the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program in 2010.

The maiden flight of the Falcon 9 medium-lift delivery system took place this June, when lift and ascent technologies were verified and validated. The new mission will be the first to carry the Dragon unmanned space capsule to space.

According to officials at the company, the purpose of the new launch will be to see if the spacecraft can lunch and separate from the rocket, orbit Earth at least 4 times, transmit telemetry, and receive commands from ground controllers.

Additionally, Dragon also needs to demonstrate orbital maneuvering and thermal control capabilities, and must survive atmospheric reentry. Under the COTS terms, the capsule needs to be in good shape upon recovery from the sea.

“This is an extremely exciting milestone for both NASA and SpaceX. We've got an extremely challenging year ahead with the remaining milestones, but getting this far this fast has been a remarkable achievement,” says Phil McAlister.

The official is the acting director of commercial space flight development at the NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC.