SpaceX has shared this beautiful view of the Falcon 9 that will take the Space Force’s GPS satellite into orbit.
SpaceX
SpaceX left the scheduled launch of the U.S. military GPS satellite on Friday night with about two seconds left in the countdown clock. The launch was scheduled for a 15-minute window at 6:43 p.m. Until two seconds before launch, all went smoothly. The SpaceX engine was starting the ignition sequence when it stopped launching.
“Below, below tonight’s GPS III-4 launch efforts,” SpaceX tweeted just minutes before 7 p.m. PT, although it did not say whether the ground or flight vehicle issue was to blame. SpaceX has not yet announced a new launch window.
Tonight’s launch of GPS III-4 stands out from the effort
– SpaceX (SpaceX) October 3, 2020
SpaceX and U.S. Space Force Meeting with celebrities. The start of Friday’s effort in Florida a Space Force Falcon 9 launches in June.
Once Elon Musk’s company launches the GPS satellite, it will attempt to land the first phase of the Falcon 9 on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. The spacecraft is to be deployed about 90 minutes after the lift off.
SpaceX hosted a livestream of Friday’s launch, which you can watch below to see how the events unfolded.
The new branch of the military is the U.S. GPS powered by Space Force III Space Vehicle (SV) 04 A GPS. Is the fourth in a series of satellites. It will join a large satellite constellation already in orbit.
It’s been a busy week for rocket launches that haven’t really started. SpaceX was set to launch a new batch of Starlink communications satellites into orbit on the Falcon 9 on Thursday, but it The launch was scrubbed and will be rescheduled. The United Launch Alliance also intended to send Delta IV heavy rockets With a classified spy satellite on Wednesday, but a The most recent attempt at a technical problem stopped.
Postponed Starlink launch in conjunction with the Space Force mission created for the Nifty photo opportunity. Shared by SpaceX a Check out the two Falcon 9s on their separate launch pads on Twitter earlier this week.
Thursday, October 1 at 9:17 a.m. for the launch of Starlink. Due to the conflict on the range, now on Friday, October 2, GPS. III-4 is targeted to launch; The 15-minute window will open at 9:43 p.m. EDT pic.twitter.com/VVhhatjBbh
– SpaceX (SpaceX) September 30, 2020
We will see if SpaceX can take the GPS mission into orbit as planned. As we saw this week, delays are common.
