The Dragon capsule is due to deliver 544 kilograms of scientific experiments and supplies to the space station on Saturday
SpaceX, Ben Cooper
This story was updated at 10:45 a.m. ET.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. A privately built unmanned spacecraft launched for NASA by the commercial spaceflight company SpaceX blasted into orbit Friday (March 1), but has experienced some sort of malfunction after separating from its rocket, the company says.
The robotic Dragon space capsule launched into orbit atop SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket in what appeared to be a smooth liftoff from a pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 10:10 a.m. ET (1510 GMT). But once in orbit, SpaceX officials reported a problem just after spacecraft separation, when the Dragon capsule was expected to deploy its solar arrays.
"It appears that, although it achieved Earth orbit, Dragon is experiencing some type of problem right now," SpaceX's John Insprucker said during the company's launch webcast.
The glitch appears to be related to Dragon's thrusters, which allow the capsule to maneuver in orbit.
"Issue with Dragon thruster pods," SpaceX founder Elon Musk wrote on Twitter. "System inhibiting three of four from initializing. About to command inhibit override." [Photos: SpaceX's Third Launch to Space Station]
SPACE.com will provide updates as new information is available.
Read more from the original source:
SpaceX Dragon Capsule Suffers Glitch after Launch to Space Station
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