Space

European Spacecraft Postpones Undocking From ISS

Brooke Miller
First Posted: Sep 26, 2012 06:25 AM EDT

The undocking of the European cargo spacecraft from the International Space Station has been delayed due to certain communication malfunction. Original scheduled for the undocking of the ATV-3 resupply spacecraft was at 2.35 am, Wednesday.

"According to our information, the undocking of the European spacecraft was canceled for today. The reasons are not clear as for now," a spokesman was quoted by Shanghai Daily.

According to the agency both the space station and the ATV-3 craft are safe and then would later announce the new undocking date.

"We're not undocking today, that's been canceled," a flight controller in Mission Control told the station's three-person crew according to the Huffington Post.

ATV-3 is attached to the Russian service module and is being loaded with waste and rubbish for disposal. Three astronauts are set to travel to the space station next month that brings the total crew members to six.

As quoted by Huffington Post, Sunita Williams of NASA told Mission Control that commands sent from the laptop apparently were not reaching the ATV spacecraft.

According to the NASA officials, engineers are expected to meet early Wednesday to discuss the malfunction and determine when the next undocking attempt can be made.

 The third ATV is named after the famous Italian physicists and spaceflight pioneer Edoardo Amaldi. It was launched in March to deliver tons of food to the orbiting lab. The fourth ATV, named "Albert Einstein," is slated to launch in April 2013. ATV is the largest and heaviest vehicle supplying the station after the space shuttle.

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