Fwd: SpaceX targeting Saturday launch

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Begin forwarded message:

From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: September 4, 2014 9:01:23 AM CDT
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: SpaceX targeting Saturday launch

 

 

SpaceX targeting Saturday launch from Cape

James Dean, FLORIDA TODAY 3:27 p.m. EDT September 3, 2014

The media covers a Space X falcon 9 rocket carrying the AsiaSat 8 Satellite turn night into day during a 4am liftoff early Tuesday morning from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station . (Photo: Craig Rubadoux CRAIG RUBADOUX/FLORIDA TODAY)

 

(Photo: SpaceX )

 

SpaceX is targeting a 12:50 a.m. Saturday launch from Cape Canaveral of the AsiaSat 6 commercial communications satellite.

There's a 60 percent chance of favorable weather during a window extending to 4:04 a.m., according to an Air Force forecast.

The launch had been planned early last week, but was postponed following the Aug. 22 explosion of one of the company's development rockets during a test flight in Texas.

SpaceX took time to "triple check" the test failure to be sure that a similar problem would not pose a risk to the 224-foot Falcon 9 set to launch the satellite for Hong Kong-based AsiaSat.

That review apparently now is complete.

SpaceX did not say if it made any adjustments to the Falcon 9 carrying the satellite.

CEO Elon Musk attributed the failure of the three-engine, single-stage test rocket to a blocked sensor that resulted in computers automatically blowing up the rocket.

Musk said the Falcon 9 is equipped with backup sensors that would have overcome a faulty one, but the development vehicle had no backups.

The vehicle was testing systems aimed at making Falcon 9 boosters reusable, enabling them to land vertically on legs.

Contact Dean at 321-242-3668 or jdean@floridatoday.com.

 

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