Christmas Dinner Rocketed To International Space Station

Enlarge this image toggle caption John Raoux/AP John Raoux/AP

Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without the tradition dinner, even in space.

So a shipment of smoked turkey breast, cranberry sauce, candied yams and, of course, fruitcake was rocketed to the International Space Station Wednesday with delivery expected by Saturday.

But as the Associated Press reports, the launch was delayed by a day because food for some of the station's other residents was moldy.

The mold had grown on food for 40 mice which, along with 36,000 worms, were also shipped to the space station for aging and muscle studies.

The current International Space Station crew includes two Americans, two Russians, one German and one Canadian. Three of the crew members arrived earlier this week and they'll remain there for the next six months. The others return home on Dec. 20, leaving only three for Christmas dinner, not counting the mice and worms.

The 5,600 pounds of cargo were blasted into space successfully on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. SpaceX engineers were less happy with the first-stage booster which dropped into the Atlantic Ocean off the Florida coast, missing its designated landing zone on ground.

"Recovery ship dispatched," tweeted SpaceX chief Elon Musk.