Risk of lightning postpones SpaceX launch

The risk of lightning postponed Monday's planned launch of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, carrying a load of food and supplies for the International Space Station.

The attempt to send the unmanned Dragon cargo carrier into space was postponed less than three minutes before launch, due to a storm system that was moving into the area, NASA said.

The next launch bid is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon at 4:10 pm (2010 GMT).

However, weather conditions are only 50 percent favorable for launch on Tuesday, due to cloud and potential afternoon storms, the US space agency said.

The California-based company headed by Internet entrepreneur Elon Musk will also try again to land the first stage of its rocket on an ocean platform after launch, in an ongoing bid to make a rocket as reusable as airplanes.

SpaceX's last attempt to land the rocket's first stage in January was not successful.

The SpaceX cargo missions however, have gone quite smoothly, and this launch will mark the sixth official journey contracted with NASA as part of a $1.6 billion deal for 12 such trips.

The Dragon is carrying around two tonnes of food and supplies, including scientific experiments.

The re-usable cargo craft will stay in space for about five weeks, as astronauts reload it with equipment to return to Earth.