As the SpaceX webcast announcer counted down the final 10 seconds of Friday’s Falcon 9 launch attempt, he said “power up” when the clock hit zero. And fast-moving smoke and fumes billowed from beneath the 230-foot-tall rocket at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
But the Falcon 9 flight computers — which take control of the launch countdown during the last minute before liftoff — quickly shut down the engines.
“Abort,” the announcer said three seconds after T-0.
Cape Canaveral:Is there a departure today? Next SpaceX, NASA, ULA rocket launch schedule in Florida
After the unusual 5:07 PM EDT post-launch cleanup, SpaceX announced, “a new target launch date will be shared as soon as it becomes available.” No further information was released.
SpaceX’s three-times-delayed Starlink 10-2 mission was delayed Wednesday and scrapped Thursday amid bad weather created by Invest 90L before Friday’s dramatic shutdown at Launch Complex 40. The Falcon 9 rockets are propelled by nine Merlin engines, which use kerosene and liquid oxygen as fuel.
Upon its final launch, the rocket will place an array of 22 Internet-beaming Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit.
Friday’s scrub could affect Monday’s launch of SpaceX’s Astra 1P satellite, which will broadcast satellite TV channels across Germany, France and Spain for Luxembourg-based satellite operator SES. That Falcon 9 mission is also scheduled for Launch Complex 40. No announcements were made as of Friday night.
Elsewhere on the SpaceX front, the Federal Aviation Administration will gather feedback from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday during a virtual meeting about future Starship-Super Heavy launches from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The FAA is the lead agency drafting Starship’s environmental impact statement.
- Expand the URL: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89402979916
- Zoom in on the meeting ID: 894 0297 9916
- Optional call numbers: 833-928-4608, 833-928-4609 or 833-928-4610.
“This project will have significant impacts on our city. You contribute and your feedback is important! Be sure to let the FAA know what you think about the project and the impacts it may have on your city,” City of Cape Canaveral officials said in a statement. Friday’s Facebook Post.
For the latest news and launch schedules from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, visit floridatoday.com/space.
Rick Neale is a space reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale atRneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1
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