SpaceX scrubbed a planned launch of a cargo capsule headed to the International Space Station on Monday due to unknown technical issues. NASA intended to go ahead with the run on Monday despite a planned spacewalk to repair serious damage to a critical computer at the ISS on April 22.
The April 22 spacewalk was intended to give SpaceX two chances to get its unmanned Dragon capsule flying. The next launch attempt for the California company's Falcon rocket would come Friday, April 18 at 3:25 p.m.
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The scrubbed launch comes after a backup computer, located on the outside of the space station, mysteriously failed to work when activated Friday. It is unclear if the scrubbed launch and the technical problems aboard the ISS are related.
The main computer kept operating perfectly, and the six-man crew was never in any danger. NASA initially debated whether to delay the SpaceX mission and, on Sunday, determined the station had sufficient redundancy to safely support the visiting vessel.
Michael Suffredini, NASA's space station program manager, said the emergency spacewalk will be conducted by a pair of astronauts on April 22, using suits outfitted with new fan components to avoid the near-disaster that occurred last summer. An Italian astronaut almost drowned when his helmet flooded with water from the suit's cooling system.
NASA rushed material for the computer replacement job to the Cape Canaveral launch site over the weekend, for packing into the Dragon. While not essential, the gasket-like item will make the task easier for the astronauts.
If spacewalks do proceed, this will be only the second emergency spacewalk since astronaut Luca Parmitano experienced a life-threatening water leak in a NASA spacesuit last July, the Universe Today reports.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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