Private spaceship still arrives at ISS despite trouble

Dragon board arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) yesterday, although its engines did not start on March 1.

Dragon ship connected with ISS above northern Ukraine on March 3. (Photo: NASA)

The robotic arm of the robot grabbed Dragon at 10:30 am on March 3 at GMT (17h31 on the same day in Hanoi) when both objects flew above northern Ukraine at an altitude of about 391km). Thus, Dragon came to ISS one day later than originally planned, Space reported.

SpaceX Group launched Dragon with Falcon 9 missiles on March 1 in US time. After Dragon separated from the missile outside the earth, three of its four engines did not work. In the process of understanding the cause, SpaceX's engineers discovered a problem in the compressor part of the engine system. They spend a day to fix the problem.

The connection between the Dragon and the ISS is much more favorable than the experts who control it on the ground, with the ISS machine arm grabbing it an hour earlier than planned,

"It's a great catch," Kate Rubins, an American astronaut on ISS, told the ship's control group in Houston, Texas, USA.

Dragon transported more than a ton of goods, including some necessary parts for air purifiers. It also carries fresh fruit, 640 seeds of a grass, mouse stem cells, protein crystals, astronaut meals, computer components, garbage bags.