Severe weather scrubs SpaceX launch; third attempt Saturday
James DeanLATEST STORY:Weather looks good for Saturday's planned SpaceX launch attempt
Rain, wind and a threat of tornadoes on Thursday morning scrubbed SpaceX's second attempt to launch a Falcon 9 rocket and Global Positioning System satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
A third try is planned at 8:55 a.m. Saturday, when the forecast is much better.
There's an 80 percent chance of conditions meeting launch rules during the 26-minute window at Launch Complex 40, with strong wind a potential concern, according to the Air Force's 45th Weather Squadron.
The mission's first launch attempt, on Tuesday, was scrubbed by a problem during fueling of the Falcon 9 rocket about seven minutes before its targeted liftoff.
Vice President Mike Pence and Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson watched that countdown from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, where Pence took the opportunity to announce the re-establishment of an independent military combatant command responsible for space operations, called U.S. Space Command.
Wilson noted the significance of the upcoming launch, which aims to deploy the first in a new generation of satellites modernizing the GPS constellation, called GPS III and built by Lockheed Martin.
The launch is also SpaceX's first of a national security mission under the Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program, which has been opened to competition after more than a decade relying exclusively on United Launch Alliance's Atlas and Delta rockets.
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On Thursday, SpaceX never began fueling the two-stage, 230-foot Falcon 9. Several weather rules were "no-go," and the launch team was unable to get balloon data needed to assess high-altitude winds, halting the countdown more than an hour before a targeted 9:29 a.m. liftoff.
Air Force Space Command has confirmed that the launch campaign will not be affected by a partial government shutdown, if Congress and the president can't agree to extend funding for a group of agencies by Friday night.
Department of Defense spending plans for 2019 have already been approved. NASA, on the other hand, might have to furlough most of its civil servants.
Contact Dean at 321-917-4534 or jdean@floridatoday.com. And follow on Twitter at @flatoday_jdean and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SpaceTeamGo.
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Launch Saturday
- Rocket: SpaceX Falcon 9
- Mission: First Global Positioning System III satellite for the U.S. Air Force
- Launch Time: 8:55 a.m. EST
- Launch Window: 26 minutes, to 9:21 a.m. EST
- Launch Complex: 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
- Landing: None
- Weather: 80 percent “go”
Join floridatoday.com at 8 a.m. Saturday for countdown updates and chat, including live streaming of SpaceX’s launch webcast starting about 15 minutes before liftoff.