Northrop Grumman's Cygnus XL cargo ship , carrying more than 11,000 pounds of equipment and supplies for the International Space Station, suffered two premature engine shutdowns Tuesday, forcing flight controllers to interrupt a carefully planned rendezvous and delay the ship's arrival at the outpost.

It was not immediately known what went wrong or when the spacecraft might be able to complete its rendezvous, assuming flight controllers can resolve the problem and develop an alternative "burn plan."

A file photo of a Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo ship after capture by the International Space Station's robot arm during an earlier resupply mission. NASA

"Early Tuesday morning, Cygnus XL's main engine stopped earlier than planned during two burns designed to raise the orbit of the sp

See Full Page