The fifth SpaceX cargo mission to the International Space Station (ISS) under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services contract is scheduled to launch 6:18 a.m. EST on January 6 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

After launching a payload on a resupply mission to the ISS, Space X's Falcon 9 first stage will deploy hypersonic stabilizing fins and fire its engines four times. It will steer itself to an upright touchdown on a robotic barge floating on the Atlantic Ocean.

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Officials give the precision landing 50-50 odds. If successful, however, SpaceX's audacious test could soon lead to cheaper, fully reusable rockets that make the final frontier not quite so financially challenging.

The new launch date gives SpaceX engineers more time to investigate issues that took place from a static fire test of the Falcon 9 rocket on December 16. It will also ensure proper sun angles for thermal and operational conditions to berth Dragon.

An on-time launch on January 6 will result in Dragon arriving at the space station on January 8.

Expedition 42 Commander Barry "Butch" Wilmore of NASA will use the station's 57.7-foot robotic arm to reach out and capture Dragon at 6:00 a.m.

Flight Engineer Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency will support Wilmore as they operate the arm.

TagsFifth SpaceX Cargo Mission, Space X, NASA, space exploration, ISS, International Space Station, Dragon spacecraft, SpaceX Launch