NASA has confirmed a contaminant has been detected in the unpressurized portion, or the trunk, of the SpaceX Dragon capsule.
The current concern is that if the detected oily reside were to vaporize in space, it could possibly contaminate an expensive experiment, according to WOGX.com.
The experiment, called Optical Payload for Lasercomm Science, or OPALS, is one of 150 experiments that were supposed to launch to the International Space Station on March 16.
The experiment uses expensive and extremely delicate optics, so any type of contamination could be costly in more ways than one.
The launch was canceled when the oily residue was discovered on the thermal blanket used to protect the opal experiment inside the SpaceX Dragon.
SpaceX has yet to announce what the substance is exactly, or hot it got there. The concern that it could vaporize and get into the optics of OPALS, which includes a powerful prototype laser, is too great to risk something happening to it, according to the firm.
In order to clean the rocket, SpaceX will have to de-stack a portion of the assembled spacecraft, take the experiment out, and clean off the residue.
"Both Falcon 9 and Dragon are in good health," SpaceX officials said in a statement announcing the delay. "Given the critical payloads on board and significant upgrades to Dragon, the additional time will ensure SpaceX does everything possible on the ground to prepare for a successful launch."
The launch has been delayed until at least March 30, according to Space.com. It will be the firm's third delivery mission for NASA under its current $1.6 billion contract.
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