Watch Falcon 9 rocket lifted upright

Japanese space officials have rescheduled the launch of an H-2B rocket and a space station-bound HTV supply ship for Saturday after halting a countdown last week due to a propulsion system problem and bypassing a launch opportunity Friday because of a poor weather forecast.

SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket stood atop historic launch pad 39A on Monday, one day before 27 kerosene-fueled rocket engines will dispatch the towering rocket into space with nearly 5 million pounds of thrust.

A SpaceX Dragon supply ship packed with nearly three tons of experiments, crew provisions and supplies will remain on the ground until at least Friday morning to allow more time for NASA flight controllers to troubleshoot a problem with an electrical distribution unit on the International Space Station.