Aug. 11 (UPI) — SpaceX scrubbed its planned launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida Sunday just 46 seconds before it was scheduled to blast off, the company announced.
“Vehicle and payload are in good health and teams are resetting for a launch attempt on Monday, August 12,” SpaceX said in a post on X.
The launch was scheduled to carry the next in a series of Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit Sunday, and was moved to the next available launch window on Monday.
A second mission, a Falcon 9 launch of the Space Norway Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission, remains scheduled for 7:02 p.m. PT from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California with a backup launch window also available on Monday.
SpaceX has launched 79 rockets so far in 2024 and there are more on the horizon. Officials in California approved an increase in the number of missions to take off from Vandenburg, but imposed some conditions. Among other conditions, SpaceX will have to implement increased wildlife monitoring, find ways to limit the effects of the sonic booms emitted during launches, and incur the costs of debris falling into the ocean.
“I think what we’re trying to do today is to ensure that when these launches take place, that they’re being done in a way that minimizes impacts to our natural environment and tries to mitigate those impacts to the greatest extent possible,” Commissioner Justin Cummings said during the meeting at King Gillette Ranch, according to the VC Star.
Source Agencies
