NASA announced on Thursday that the scheduled resupply mission involving the Cygnus freighter spacecraft has been delayed because of unfavorable weather.
The unmanned Orbital ATK cargo ship was supposed to transport supplies to the crew of the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday, Dec. 3, at 5:55 p.m. EST.
Bad weather, however, has forced the American space agency to scuttle the launch and reschedule, with the latest update now showing a Dec. 6 liftoff at 4:44 p.m. EST.
The Cygnus spacecraft has been grounded since October of last year following a launch mishap. The Antares rocket that was set to carry the freighter to space suddenly exploded a few seconds after it launched.
Officials from Orbital ATK said that the company has decided to replace the Antares' first-stage engines with RD-181 engines. A modified version of the rocket's booster is also in production and will be made available in 2016.
For now, the Cygnus spacecraft will be launched into space aboard an Atlas V rocket made by United Launch Alliance.
The space cargo ship that was meant to launch on Thursday has been outfitted with around 3,500 kilograms (7,700 pounds) of supplies including food and scientific gear for ISS astronauts.
It also carries a small cubesat made by students in Virginia, which in turn contains a golden medallion that the Pope has blessed.
Aside from Orbital ATK, NASA also has contracts for transporting supplies to the ISS with other companies.
The California-based space transport company SpaceX currently has an agreement with the American space agency, which is valued at $1.6 billion, to launch around 12 unmanned ISS missions using its Falcon 9 spacecraft and Dragon capsule.
SpaceX was involved in the last successful resupply mission of the United States in April.
"I'm guessing that Santa's sleigh is somewhere inside the Cygnus, and they're probably excited about their stockings coming up, too," said Frank Culbertson, Orbital ATK's space systems president.
