Washington: The departure of the SpaceX Cargo Dragon spacecraft was called off on Monday due to bad weather conditions off the coast of Daytona Beach, Florida, USA.
“Today’s departure of the upgraded @SpaceX Cargo Dragon has been called off due to weather in the splashdown zone,” NASA wrote in a tweet.
According to NASA, SpaceX on Monday has waved off the departure of an upgraded SpaceX Dragon resupply spacecraft, due to weather conditions at the targeted splashdown zone off the coast of Daytona Beach, Florida.
Splashing down off the coast of Florida enables quick transportation of the science aboard the capsule to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center’s Space Station Processing Facility, delivering some science back into the hands of the researchers as soon as four to nine hours after splashdown, NASA said.
This shorter transportation timeframe allows researchers to collect data with minimal loss of microgravity effects. Previous cargo Dragon spacecraft returned to the Pacific Ocean, with quick-return science cargo processed at SpaceX’s facility in McGregor, Texas, and delivered to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, NASA said.