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Weather delays
A SpaceX Dragon freighter was supposed to detach autonomously from the International Space Station and return home Monday morning, but bad weather on Earth left it temporarily stranded.
For now, the freighter remains attached to the ISS while NASA and SpaceX work on a backup schedule to send it home, Space.com reports. This mission was supposed to mark the first autonomous undocking of the ISS, but for now it remains on hold.
Precious cargo
Previously, Dragon freighters had to splash in the Pacific, which meant there was a longer wait between landing and handing over equipment or science experiments to researchers on Earth. But the Dragon currently docked at the ISS may land near Florida, according to Space.com, which means the experiments will be in better shape when they reach the lab.
Some of these experiments, which include studying the impacts of microgravity on heart cells and how stem cells develop into 3D organs, are extremely sensitive to the impacts of gravity. So the sooner they get to the laboratories at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, the better.
Patience game
But for now, the ship remains docked with the ISS until the bad weather over the Atlantic Ocean dissipates and NASA and SpaceX give the green light to return.
Fortunately, as Space.com Note, the Dragon can stay securely attached to the ISS for twice as long as previous models, so its cargo should still be fine.
READ MORE: Bad weather on Earth delays SpaceX Dragon’s return from space station [Space.com]
Learn more about SpaceX: Dock a SpaceX spacecraft to the ISS in this amazing simulator
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