The SpaceX Dragon capsule that launched Friday morning to bring supplies to the International Space Station has hit a snag.
A Twitter message from the founder of the company that made the capsule attributed the problem — which kicked in nine minutes after launch — to three of the four rocket thrusters, Fox News reports. Flight controllers are trying to override the system.
The capsule is carrying more than a ton of items for the space station — among them, healthy food. SpaceX's Gwynne Shotwell told Fox News that apples, straight from the orchard of one employee's father, are on board, along with scores of other healthy snacks.
"It's a little bit healthier, I think, than the one that NASA sent last time," she said. Fox News reports one recent capsule trip to the space station carted the likes of chocolate-vanilla swirl ice cream.
Food isn't the only item aboard. The capsule is also filled with mouse stem cells, protein crystals and other items used for research, Fox News reports.
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. is being paid $1.6 billion to transport supplies to the space station. This is the third trip of 12 that will be made, under the terms of the contract, Fox News says.
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Cheryl Chumley is a continuous news writer for The Washington Times. Previously, she was part of the start-up team for The Washington Times’ digital aggregation product, Times247. She’s also a 2008-2009 Robert Novak journalism fellow with The Phillips Foundation. She can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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