ISS grocery run stalled by storm clouds

Storm clouds have prevented SpaceX from blasting off with a rocket ship full of groceries for the International Space Station.

SpaceX will have to wait another day to deliver groceries and an espresso maker to the International Space Station.

Fast-approaching storm clouds prevented the unmanned rocket from blasting off on Monday afternoon. The company will try again on Tuesday afternoon, but more bad weather is forecast.

The odds of acceptable conditions are just 50-50.

SpaceX halted the countdown at the two minute mark as a menacing storm system moved into the 18km keep-out zone surrounding the Falcon rocket. The company had a single second to get off the ground.

The SpaceX supply ship holds more than 1,815kg of food, experiments and equipment.

Italy provided the specially designed espresso machine for Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, who arrived at the space station last November.

The espresso maker was supposed to fly in January, but ended up on backlog following another company's launch explosion last year.

That accident left the space station's pantry a little emptier than NASA would prefer. The space agency is trying to get back to a six-month reserve on food.


Share

1 min read

Published

Updated



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world