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NASA says SpaceX Dragon is safe to dock with the International Space Station on Sunday

NASA says SpaceX Dragon is safe to dock with the International Space Station on Sunday

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SpaceX Dragon docked to space station
SpaceX Dragon docked to space station

SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft was delayed after experiencing a glitch on Friday, casting doubt on its chances for docking with the International Space Station in the near future, but NASA has just announced that the Dragon is clear to deliver its payload. The Dragon began experiencing trouble after it reached orbit and disconnected from its Falcon 9 rocket; SpaceX noticed problematic pressure readings that prevented the company from activating all of the spacecraft's thruster pods that are required to approach the space station. But NASA says that the ISS Mission Management Team "unanimously agreed" that the Dragon's propulsion and other systems are now ready, and it is now scheduled to link up with the ISS on Sunday at 6:01 AM ET.

The mission is SpaceX's third flight to the ISS following the first docking in May 2012, and once again it's delivering space experiments and supplies to the astronauts aboard the space station. Despite the initial delay, NASA says the Dragon will follow the rest of its mission according to schedule, and is expected to unberth and return to Earth on Monday, March 25th. You can watch the spacecraft dock with the ISS when NASA's coverage of the berthing operation begins tomorrow at 7:30 AM.