With NASA dumping the space shuttle program, they needed an alternative method of delivering supplies to the International Space Station. They contracted Space X and Orbital Sciences to complete the tasks. In their inaugural run, the Corp’s Cygnus capsule failed to deliver.
A brand new private cargo ship which is making its orbital debut experienced trouble with a computer data link on Sunday, delaying its arrival at the International Space Station by at least two days.
The rendezvous was aborted less than six hours before the scheduled arrival of Orbital Sciences Corp’s Cygnus capsule, which is packed with 1,300lb of food and clothes for the space station crew. The Virginia-based company said it was working on a software repair, but it will be at least two more days until another approach is attempted.