Caffeine High: Space station getting Italian espresso maker

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) – The next space station grocery run will carry caffeine to a whole new level: Aboard the SpaceX supply ship is an authentic espresso machine straight from Italy.

SpaceX is scheduled to launch its unmanned rocket with the espresso maker – and 4,000 pounds of food and other equipment – Monday afternoon. Forecasters put the weather odds at 60 percent.

The experimental espresso machine is intended for International Space Station astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy. It was supposed to arrive in January, shortly after her arrival, so she could get some relief from the station’s instant coffee. But it ended up on the back burner after a station shipment was lost in a launch explosion.

For the third time, SpaceX will attempt to land its leftover booster on an ocean barge.

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