After a delay of about half a month, the next era of space travel is slated to lift off March 30.

That's when commercial space transport company SpaceX, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, launches a Falcon 9 rocket with a cargo payload for the International Space Station.

The Falcon 9 booster and Dragon cargo vessel are scheduled for what promises to be a visually spectacular night liftoff from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 10:50 p.m. EDT.

But what makes the particular mission so special is that the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket has been outfitted with four landing legs, a design not yet used during an active space mission but which is expected to eventually revolutionize rocketry and robotics.

Although the Falcon 9 will sport legs, SpaceX is still planning a controlled soft landing in the Atlantic Ocean.

The mission was delayed with less than three days before the previously-planned March 16 launch after the sudden discovery of some sort of "contamination," according to a story by Universe Today.

"To ensure the highest possible level of mission assurance and allow additional time to resolve remaining open items, the team is taking additional time to resolve open items and ensure SpaceX does everything possible on the ground to prepare for a successful launch," said a company statement.

The Universe Today piece cites sources that revealed the problem was related to the "unpressurized truck section" at the rear of the Dragon spacecraft.

With the contamination issues since resolved, the time to launch is once again moving forward. But, just in case the launch needs to be delayed, there will be an alternate launch window at 9:39 p.m. on April 2.

The unmanned SpaceX CRS-3 mission will deliver over 5000 pounds of science equipment, including a high definition imaging camera suite, an optical communications experiment and other gear, spare parts, crew provisions, food, clothing and supplies to the six person crews living and working aboard the station, which is soaring in low Earth orbit.