Fwd: SpaceX Falcon 9 third try Sunday afternoon

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From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: June 22, 2014 12:10:57 PM CDT
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: SpaceX Falcon 9 third try Sunday afternoon

 

SpaceX Falcon 9 grounded by weather (UPDATED)

06/21/2014 11:27 PM 

 

Editor's note...

Posted at 06:42 PM ET, 06/21/14: SpaceX launch called off due to weather

Updated at 11:15 PM ET, 06/21/14: ORBCOMM says third launch try on tap Sunday

 

By WILLIAM HARWOOD

CBS News

 

Running a day late because of a technical glitch, bad weather Saturday forced SpaceX to call off a second attempt to launch a Falcon 9 rocket on a commercial mission to deploy six ORBCOMM data relay satellites. SpaceX provided no details about the scrub or when they might make another launch attempt, but ORBCOMM said late Saturday the team was gearing up for a third try Sunday afternoon.

 

A launch attempt Friday was called off due to concern about an apparent second stage propellant pressurization issue. The company said during a webcast that it was not immediately clear whether the issue was a real problem with the rocket, faulty instrumentation or trouble with ground equipment.

 

SpaceX never updated the company's website with any additional information and it's not yet clear what, if anything, was actually wrong or what, if anything, was required to fix it. The SpaceX web page was updated with a single posting Saturday afternoon confirming a second launch try was targeted for 5:46 p.m.

 

But the weather was an issue throughout the launch window and the 45th Space Wing at nearby Patrick Air Force Base tweeted at one point that launch had slipped to 6:39 p.m., the end of the available 53-minute window.

 

SpaceX did not provide a webcast for the second launch attempt, no company officials were apparent where reporters were gathered at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and no official information on the progress of the countdown was provided until after the Air Force confirmed the scrub.

 

A few minutes after that, the SpaceX website was updated to say "today's ORBCOMM launch attempt has been scrubbed due to weather. Currently reviewing next available launch opportunities."

 

Late Sunday, ORBCOMM posted an update on its website saying "both Falcon 9 and ORBCOMM satellites are safe. We are targeting launch for tomorrow, Sunday, June 22 at 5:30 p.m. ET. We will continue to post updates as we get closer to launch."

 

The launch window is believed to open at 5:24 p.m., but SpaceX provided no immediate clarification or even confirmation that a third launch try was on tap Sunday.

 

© 2011 William Harwood/CBS News Contact Me

 

 

 

SpaceX launch delayed again, this time because of weather

By Irene Klotz

 

CAPE CANAVERAL Fla (Reuters) - Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, on Saturday delayed the planned launch of a Falcon 9 rocket carrying six communications satellites after cloudy skies socked in its Florida launch site.

 

The privately owned company had rescheduled launch for Saturday after encountering a technical problem minutes before a launch attempt on Friday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

 

The rocket carries six small satellites for Orbcomm Inc ORBC.O, a provider of machine-to-machine data and messaging services worldwide.

 

"Today's Orbcomm launch attempt has been scrubbed due to weather." SpaceX wrote on its website.

 

A spokeswoman for Orbcomm said in an email that the next launch attempt would be 5:30 p.m. EDT/2130 GMT on Sunday.

 

SpaceX had 53 minutes to launch the rocket, beginning at 5:46 p.m. EDT/2146 GMT, to put the Orbcomm satellites into their designated orbits some 500 miles (800 km) above Earth and inclined 47 degrees relative to the equator.

 

The launch on Friday was called off after engineers detected unexpected pressure readings in the rocket's second stage engine. SpaceX provided no additional details of the problem.

 

For Saturday's launch attempt, the California-based company, owned and operated by technology entrepreneur Elon Musk, canceled its webcast and provided no commentary about the launch countdown, a public service offered even for classified Department of Defense satellite launches.

 

"For the first time since the end of the Cold War, a space launch from Cape Canaveral will not be broadcast to the press and the public," Spaceflightnow.com, which provides live launch coverage, wrote on its website.

 

SpaceX did not respond to emails about the blackout.

 

(Reporting by Irene Klotz; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

 

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014.