spacetoday.net: SpaceX launch likely to be delayed

Posted: Thu, May 3, 2012, 7:50 AM ET (1150 GMT)
Falcon 9 launch of 1st Dragon spacecraft (NASA/KSC)

SpaceX said Wednesday it is "unlikely" that Monday's scheduled launch of a Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket will proceed because of additional testing being done on the spacecraft. The company said in a brief statement Wednesday afternoon that the Monday morning launch was unlikely to take place as scheduled to allow the company more time to work on software assurance issues regarding the Dragon spacecraft with NASA. No official launch delay had yet been announced, although some NASA documents has already pushed the launch back to the backup date of May 10. If SpaceX cannot launch on the 10th, the launch will be delayed until late in the month because of the mid-May launch of three ISS crewmembers on a Soyuz. The mission is designed to test the Dragon cargo spacecraft's ability to safely approach and berth with the station. A successful flight would allow SpaceX to begin commercial cargo delivery missions to the station later this year.