The capsule may arrive at the space lab by Sunday

Apr 17, 2014 12:56 GMT  ·  By

Officials at NASA and Hawthorne, California-based Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) have decided to target Friday, April 18, for launching the company's third private resupply flight to the International Space Station (ISS). The mission, designated CRS-3, has already been postponed twice before. 

SpaceX is now targeting a launch window opening at 15:25 EDT (1925 GMT) on Friday. Engineering teams with the company were successful in their attempt to fix a helium leak that plagued the Falcon 9 rocket during a previous launch attempt on April 14. With this issue fixed, countdown can resume for the delivery system and the Dragon unmanned cargo capsule it carries.

Launch will occur from Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-40) at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Florida. CRS-3 will deliver more than 2,270 kilograms (5,000 pounds) of supplies to the ISS, including scientific experiments, hardware, spare parts, fuel, air and oxygen, and various tools to support experiments that will be conducted by Expeditions 39 and 40.

If Dragon manages to launch successfully tomorrow – in an event to be broadcast live by NASA TV – then the capsule will reach the ISS by Sunday, April 20. Since it is unable to dock to the space lab autonomously, the capsule will be captured by Expedition 39 astronauts, who will use the Canadarm 2 robotic arm for the job.