Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Emerging Tech
  3. News

SpaceX launch to resupply ISS finally goes off after several delays

By
Add as a preferred source on Google
CRS-17 Mission

After a number of delays, the SpaceX mission to resupply the International Space Station (ISS) has successfully launched.

Recommended Videos

Originally scheduled for Tuesday, April 30, the launch of the Falcon 9 rocket had to be put on hold due to several electrical problems.

First, the ISS experienced an electrical issue. The station found its power supply reduced by around 25% due to a failed component, which according to NASA was a technical problem but one that posed no immediate danger to the crew or the station. “Robotics Ground Controllers in Mission Control Houston successfully completed an operation to remove a failed Main Bus Switching Unit-3 and replace it with a spare,” NASA explained in a blog post. “Since the successful replacement, the MBSU was powered up and checked out successfully with all station systems back to nominal power configuration, including redundant power to the Canadarm2 robotic arm.”

Once the launch was rescheduled, the SpaceX Droneship which is part of the rocket booster recovery apparatus, also suffered an electrical problem. With just 15 minutes to go before liftoff, the launch had to be delayed again when droneship “Of Course I Still Love You” experienced a helium leak.

But this morning around 3 a.m. ET, the launch finally went ahead in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Falcon 9 carried a Dragon 1 spacecraft, an unmanned craft which was full of cargo like scientific instruments and food for the astronauts aboard the ISS.

The launch went off smoothly, and after two stage engine burns the Dragon craft was confirmed to be in good orbit. It then deployed its solar panels and went on its way towards the ISS. Even the droneship Of Course I Still Love You worked well, collecting the Falcon 9 booster rocket when it fell to Earth.

As usual for SpaceX, the event was live-streamed to a curious public, including some admittedly breathtaking video of the launch, the separation of the Dragon craft from the Falcon rocket, and the scientific equipment onboard the Dragon visible as it drifted away from the rocket.

In addition, SpaceX shared a visualization video of the Dragon being captured by the ISS’s robotic arm on Twitter, and confirmed that the capture is scheduled for early on Monday morning.

Georgina Torbet
Georgina Torbet
Former Space Writer
Georgina has been the space writer at Digital Trends space writer for six years, covering human space exploration, planetary…
Topics
AI can turn your Instagram posts into scam that know a little too much about you
Your public social media posts could be helping scammers create emails that feel personal, and existing AI safeguards aren't doing enough to stop them.
Electronics, Mobile Phone, Phone

We've all received those suspicious emails claiming we've won something, missed a delivery, or need to urgently update our bank details. Most are easy enough to ignore, especially when they're full of strange wording or have absolutely nothing to do with us. But what happens when a scam email actually knows what you've been up to lately? That's where things get a little worrying.

Researchers at the University of Texas at Arlington have found that AI can use information people share publicly on social media to create phishing emails that feel personal. And we're not just talking about knowing your name or where you work. These emails can reference things you've recently done, places you've visited, or even something you've been looking forward to. The researchers showed how widely available AI models could gather these details and turn them into targeted messages, potentially letting scammers reach large numbers of people without spending hours researching each person individually.

Read more
Tiny injectable glucose sensor could make blood sugar monitoring 10 times cheaper
Texas A&M researchers have a glowing idea for making glucose monitoring easier on your skin and your wallet.
Glucose monitoring system

Continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) have saved a lot of people from pricking their fingers several times a day. They are still far from perfect, and cost a lot. A team at Texas A&M University thinks it has a cheaper and simpler alternative. In a study published in ACS Measurement Science Au, the researchers describe a sensor small enough to inject under your skin.

Why do current glucose monitors still feel like a chore?

Read more
Hyundai isn’t giving up on hydrogen cars, but don’t expect one in your driveway anytime soon
Hydrogen gets a maybe; hybrids get a warning.
Hyundai Ioniq 3 EV

Hydrogen cars have spent years in the same waiting room as flying taxis. They’re always almost here, but no commercially available product exists for interested buyers. So when a Hyundai manager pushed back on the obituary, I was immediately curious.

To be clear, Hyundai hasn’t announced a new car. The big news here is that its Australian arm says hydrogen is “not dead” for passenger cars. Apparently, the automaker is still evaluating a next-generation hydrogen fuel-cell car if it can find buyers (via CarExpert).

Read more