South Bay-Based SpaceX Scrubs Falcon 9 Rocket Lauch, Reschedules for Thursday

Hawthorne-based SpaceX scrubbed the launch of one of its Falcon 9 rockets from Cape Canaveral today, but will try again tomorrow to deliver a communications satellite into orbit then land the rocket back on a floating barge.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket had been scheduled to launch at 3:46 p.m. Pacific time from Cape Canaveral in Florida, carrying a communications satellite, known as SES-9, into orbit. By mid-afternoon, the company said the weather in Florida put the chances of a launch at 60 percent. About 30 minutes before the launch, the company opted to wait until Thursday.

Thursday’s launch window also opens at 3:46 p.m., according to SpaceX.

Once the rocket is launched, the company will make another effort to guide the rocket back to a barge -- known comedically as “Of Course I Still Love You.” Even SpaceX officials, however, don’t expect a successful landing.

“Given this mission’s unique GTO (Geostationary Transfer Orbit) profile, a successful landing is not expected,” according to the company.

The company has failed three times previously to successfully land the rocket on a barge. SpaceX made history in December when it managed to return a rocket to Earth and set it down upright on land. That Dec. 21 launch, also from Cape Canaveral, delivered 11 ORBCOMM communications satellites into orbit. After delivering the vehicle carrying the satellites into orbit, the rocket was maneuvered back to Earth, and it successfully landed on a pad back at Cape Canaveral.

The history-making landing was a major cost-saving step forward for space operations, proving that highly expensive rockets can be recovered and reused instead of merely being lost into the ocean.

According to SpaceX, the SES-9 satellite will provide broadcast and communications capabilities across Northeast Asia, South Asia, Indonesia, India and the Philippines.

--City News Service, photo courtesy of SpaceX