Elon Musk's aerospace company SpaceX will resume its delivery of cargo supplies to the International Space Station on Friday, April 8, after an almost 10-month pause due to rocket failure.
Just more than a week ago, SpaceX announced its plans to send a one-of-a-kind inflatable space module to the space station aboard the Falcon 9 rocket.
The rocket, which carries a Dragon cargo vehicle, will hold special scientific equipment crucial to the overall ISS research program, as well as to the astronauts living on the ISS. The Dragon cargo will carry 7,000 pounds of supplies, experiments and equipment, including seeds that will be grown on the ISS.
"It's really important to have a very regular supply chain," said NASA ISS program manager Kirk Shireman during a press conference.
On Twitter, the company confirmed that the latest launch of freight is a go at 4:43 p.m. ET from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Falcon 9 and Dragon targeting launch this Friday afternoon at 4:43pm ET. Updates & webcast → https://t.co/tdni53IviI pic.twitter.com/tAWKYY6qns
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 7, 2016
NASA TV will broadcast coverage of the launch beginning 03:30 p.m. EST. Friday's forecasts call for a 90 percent chance of favorable weather, the agency said.
SpaceX's previous cargo delivery in June last year did not go well, with the Falcon 9 rocket exploding just 2 minutes and 19 seconds after the launch.
The first stage of the rocket was about to separate from the upper stage when the explosion occurred.
Musk said there was an overpressure event in the upper stage liquid oxygen tank that caused the disintegration, in which a strut holding helium in the second stage snapped and resulted to a chain reaction.
About 4,000 pounds of cargo intended to resupply the ISS were lost in the launch failure.
Since then, SpaceX has revamped the manufacturing process of the rocket, as well as the design of the strut. The company now individually tests each strut to make sure that it meets strength requirements.
After Friday's launch, SpaceX will once again try to successfully land Falcon 9 on a floating drone ship for the fifth time.
A month ago, the Falcon 9 rocket perfectly delivered a commercial satellite into orbit, but the landing did not go smooth as planned.
Falcon 9 landed hard on the drone ship, Musk tweeted. He said they did not expect it to work because of a very hot re-entry.
So far, the company has only been able to successfully land Falcon 9 on solid ground post-launch, which was demonstrated in December last year.
If Friday's landing is executed without any flaw, it will be a crucial step for the aerospace company, proving that it can land its rockets both on solid ground and on drone ships.
"I certainly hope we will nail the landing this time," said SpaceX flight reliability vice president Hans Koenigsmann.
