Bad weather plays villain for SpaceX Dragon cargo; launch postponed due to storm

Bad weather had occasionally donned the role of villain in the history of the space industry. Many programs which went on to create milestones in the sector, were once delayed due to unfavourable climatic conditions. Companies, big and small had to suffer monetary losses due to the postponement of space programs. The situation is no different in the case of SpaceX. The Elon Musk-led company had plans to launch the Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station on August 28, 2021. The cargo spacecraft was supposed to carry about 2,200 kilograms of supplies to the ISS, for the Expedition 65 crew. However, storms near the site of launch have delayed the launch by 24 hours. During the live stream of the event on Saturday, SpaceX's production supervisor, Andy Tran said "Weather is not in our favour today." He also added that both the Dragona and Falcon spacecraft were healthy. 

SpaceX Dragon cargo launch delayed due to bad weather conditions 

On August 28, 2021, NASA and SpaceX decided to delay the launch about a few minutes before the rocket carrying cargo was scheduled to be launched from the historic Launch Complex 39A  from Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. Previously there was a 60% chance of unfavourable weather conditions at the time of launch and the storms did not clear as the launch time came, resulting in a 24-hour delay. The next take-off opportunity for the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft is on Sunday, August 29, 2021, at 03:14 AM EDT or 12:44 PM IST, for those residing in India. The launch can be watched live on NASA TV or SpaceX's website.

During the live launch broadcast, NASA spokesperson Joshua Santora said that "We opened the show with a situation that had us at about a 60% chance of violating specifically to the cumulus cloud rule, but since our show has begun we've had a couple of other issues pop up. We also are tracking now the attached anvil cloud rule and surface electric field rule," he added, calling it "not a great scenario to be in."   

What are the supplies in dragon cargo?

The SpaceX Cargo spacecraft is called CRS-23 and will carry loads of supplies for the scientists working on the International Space Station. The cargo will be used for experiments in the field of life sciences, pharmaceuticals and many other fields. The payload will also contain equipment to facilitate the growth of plants in space, monitoring astronaut's bone health and vision and a cubesat collection.