Musk: No July 4 SpaceX launch from KSC
James DeanUpdate:
SpaceX will spend the Fourth of July inspecting a Falcon 9 rocket and its systems after two scrubbed launches, according to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. The next launch attempt will be no earlier than Wednesday.
"We're going to spend the 4th doing a full review of rocket & pad systems," Musk said via Twitter. "Launch no earlier than 5th/6th. Only one chance to get it right."
Original story:
Independence Day revelers on the Space Coast might see a SpaceX rocket’s red glare shortly before fireworks start bursting in the air.
The company hoped to ready a Falcon 9 rocket for a potential Fourth of July blastoff from Kennedy Space Center after Monday’s countdown was aborted with seconds remaining, just like Sunday’s.
Launch teams did not immediately identify the cause of the abort 10 seconds before the targeted 8:35 p.m. liftoff.
“We’ve got plenty of information, but (engineers are) taking their time right now to understand what system they’re really looking at that would be the cause of the hold,” said John Insprucker, SpaceX principal integration engineer.
A launch Tuesday would be around 7:35 p.m., at the opening of another nearly one-hour window, if SpaceX is ready for a third attempt in as many days.
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Air Force meteorologists anticipate a 70 percent chance of acceptable weather.
The same odds were forecasted Monday. But threatening clouds delayed the launch time several times, pushing it to the end of the window.
The stage was set for a stunning liftoff through pink-streaked clouds just after sunset by the Falcon 9 carrying the Intelsat 35e commercial communications satellite.
But once again, with 10 seconds to go, computers automatically halted the countdown after detecting a rocket system operating outside of specified limits.
“That’s one of the points where we routinely check a lot of data on the vehicle to make sure that everything is good to go as close to launch as we can measure it,” Insprucker explained.
On Sunday, computers flagged the rocket’s guidance system. SpaceX said a review showed nothing was wrong with it, and engineers reset software parameters to prevent the same abort from happening again.
Teams will again pore over launch vehicle data to figure out which system was at fault Monday, and how quickly it can be fixed.
It’s a little unclear how much time SpaceX has left to fly this mission.
After Tuesday, the Air Force planned to close the Eastern Range for two weeks of maintenance. It’s possible the 45th Space Wing would push back that work if SpaceX hopes to launch later in the week.
It’s shaping up to be a very busy week at KSC.
In addition to SpaceX’s launch attempts, Vice President Mike Pence is scheduled to visit America’s Spaceport on Thursday afternoon to tour facilities and address employees.
A launch of a commercial rocket and satellite close to Pence’s visit would help NASA show off KSC’s post-shuttle role as a “multi-user spaceport” that supports more than just government missions.
SpaceX hopes to fly sooner rather than later, launching what would be its third mission in 11 days.
“Our earliest launch opportunity may be (Tuesday), the Fourth of July here in the United States, a great holiday,” said Insprucker. “We’ll see whether or not we have a rocket that will be able to fly on that day.”
Contact Dean at 321-242-3668 orjdean@floridatoday.com. And follow on Twitter at@flatoday_jdeanand on Facebook atfacebook.com/jamesdeanspace.