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Falcon 9 Rocket Launch Delayed...SpaceX has rescheduled its Falcon 9 rocket delivery to the International Space Station (ISS) due to dangerously high winds. The rocket was less than an hour away from launch on Wednesday when SpaceX decided that it would be ideal to postpone the launch until the winds die down at Cape Canaveral and the Atlantic. "Standing down today due to upper altitude winds and high winds at sea creating dynamic conditions around the Of Course I Still Love You drone ship — next launch opportunity is tomorrow [Dec. 5] at 12:29 p.m. EST (1729 GMT)," SpaceX wrote in a Twitter update roughly an hour before today's lift-off, which was scheduled for 12:51 p.m. EST (1751 GMT)
SpaceX intends to land the new booster on an offshore barge after lift-off so that it can be reused. The company has stated that they would try to re-launch the rocket on Thursday afternoon given that the weather conditions are suitable i.e, calm winds. The space craft is expected to reach the ISS by December 8th now, 24 hours later than scheduled.
Dragon, the spacecraft intended for the launch is a seasoned veteran having already made two trips to the International Space Station before. Once in 2014 and then again in 2017. The capsule contains three tons of supplies for NASA. The rocket’s third trip to the International Space Station contains forty ‘mighty mice’ for muscle and bone study and barley for a beer-malting study. SpaceX has been assisting with restocking the orbiting lab since 2012.