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SpaceX shared this panoramic view of the Falcon 9 that will put Space Force’s GPS satellite into orbit.
Spacex
SpaceX aborted the scheduled launch of a US military GPS satellite on Friday night with just two seconds remaining on the countdown. The launch was scheduled for a 15-minute window that opened at 6:43 p.m. Pacific time. Everything seemed to go smoothly, up to two seconds before launch. SpaceX was starting the engine power-up sequence when it stopped the clock.
“Leaving behind tonight’s GPS III-4 launch attempt,” SpaceX tweeted a few minutes before 7pm PST, though it did not say whether it was a ground vehicle or flight issue to blame. The next launch window opens at 6:39 p.m. Pacific time on Saturday, SpaceX said.
Withdrawal of tonight’s GPS III-4 launch attempt
– SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 3, 2020
SpaceX and the US Space force they get along very well. Friday’s launch attempt in Florida follows a Space Force Falcon 9 launch in June.
Once Elon Musk’s company launches the GPS satellite, it will attempt to land the first stage of the Falcon 9 on an unmanned ship in the Atlantic Ocean. The spacecraft is scheduled to deploy about 90 minutes after liftoff.
SpaceX hosted a live feed of Friday’s launch, which you can watch below to see how the events unfolded.
The GPS Space Vehicle III (SV) 04 is the fourth in a series of GPS satellites operated by the US Space Force, the newest branch of the military. It will join a larger constellation of satellites already in orbit.
It’s been a busy week for rocket launches that haven’t actually been launched. SpaceX was scheduled to send a new batch of Starlink communications satellites into orbit in a Falcon 9 on Thursday, but that’s the launch was erased and will be rescheduled. United Launch Alliance also intended to send a Delta IV Heavy rocket Wednesday with a classified spy satellite, but a technical problem stopped the most recent attempt.
The postponed launch of Starlink combined with the Space Force mission was an excellent photo opportunity. SpaceX shared a See on Twitter earlier this week of the two Falcon 9s on their separate launch pads.
Directed to Thursday, October 1 at 9:17 am EDT for the Starlink launch. Due to a conflict on the Range, it is now targeting the GPS III-4 launch on Friday, October 2; The 15-minute window opens at 9:43 p.m. EDT pic.twitter.com/VVhhatjBbh
– SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 30, 2020
We’ll see if SpaceX can escort the GPS mission to orbit as planned. As we have seen this week, delays are common.
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