SpaceX has shared this beautiful view of the Falcon 9 that will take the Space Force’s GPS satellite into orbit.
SpaceX
SpaceX flew from Florida to the U.S. on Friday night. The military launched a scheduled launch of the GPS satellite with about two seconds left in the countdown. The launch was scheduled for a 15-minute window that opened with PT at 6:43 p.m. The weather forecast is 70% favorable for liftoff. Until two seconds before launch, all went smoothly. The SpaceX engine was starting the ignition sequence when the clock stopped.
“Standing down from tonight’s launch effort of GPS III-4,” SpaceX tweeted just minutes before 7 p.m. PT, although it did not say whether it would blame the issue of ground or flight vehicle. The next launch window PT opens Saturday at 6:39 p.m., SpaceX said.
Tonight’s launch of GPS III-4 stands out from the effort
– SpaceX (SpaceX) October October 3, 2020
SpaceX and U.S. Space Force Meeting with celebrities. The start of Friday’s effort 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 is equipped with 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 rebuilt. The United Launch Alliance also intended to send a Delta IV heavy rocket Wednesday with a classified spy satellite, 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. ETT for Starlink launch. 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.
