Second Attempt Will Be Made Thursday Morning

The first attempt to dock the SpaceX Dragon supply ship to ISS was aborted Wednesday due to an apparent issue with the Dragon's GPS navigation system.

CBS News reports that the spacecraft, which was launched Sunday from Launch Complex 39A at Florida's Kennedy Space Center, appears to have been waved off after it received an incorrect "state vector" ... the data that provides the spacecraft's orbit and trajectory.

SpaceX Tweeted that a second attempt will be made Thursday to rendezvous the two spacecraft. "Dragon is in good health and will make another rendezvous attempt with the @Space_Station Thursday morning," the company said in a Tweet.

Rob Navis, NASA's mission control commentator at the Johnson Space Center In Houston, said "The SpaceX Dragon, a commercial cargo ship, has aborted its rendezvous for the day. There will be no rendezvous, no capture today by the crew members on board the International Space Station.

“All of the rendezvous maneuvers, all of the engine firings for Dragon had gone off without a hitch all the way from its launch from ... the Kennedy Space Center back on Sunday morning. All of the approach burns were perfect for Dragon all the way through the early morning hours this morning.”

At approximately 0315 EST, “the report came from the SpaceX mission director ... that Dragon had aborted its approach to the International Space Station because of an apparent problem with what is called the filter on the relative Global Positioning System hardware that basically tells the Dragon’s onboard computers what its relative position in the sky is to the International Space Station,” Navis said.

He added that that at no time was the crew of the station in any danger. The Dragon was about .7 miles below the station when the abort command was issued. “Dragon did exactly what it was supposed to do and broke out of its approach, aborting its approach to the International Space Station and now is on a trajectory that will bring it in front of, and then above, the International Space Station, eventually behind the station in what is called a racetrack maneuver,” Navis said.

On Wednesday morning, an uncrewed Russian Progress 66 launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It is now orbiting the planet on course for the International Space Station

The vehicle will deliver almost three tons of food, fuel and supplies to the Expedition 50 crew.

The spacecraft is set to dock to the Pirs docking compartment at 3:34 a.m. Friday, Feb. 24. Progress 66 will remain docked at the station for almost four months before departing in June for its deorbit into Earth’s atmosphere.

This was the first launch of a Progress cargo ship from Baikonur since the Progress 65 supply craft was lost Dec. 1, 2016.

(Images provided by NASA)

FMI: www.nasa.gov, www.spacex.com