SpaceX has pulled out of a June 26 Starlink launch attempt to allow “additional time for pre-launch payments,” meaning the second US military GPS satellite mission.
Scheduled to launch no earlier than (NET) 3:56 pm EDT (19:56 UTC) on June 30, the GPS III SV03 mission will be SpaceX’s last this month, shortening the chance that June 2020 will be the first four launch month. However, when one door closes, another has opened, leaving four more SpaceX launches now slated for July.
Additionally, SpaceX’s willingness to delay an internal launch of Starlink by a substantial amount serves as confirmation that the company continues to prioritize reliability and established procedures over expediency. Given the any Falcon 9 seriously fails to impact all SpaceX launches, including Starlink’s internal missions and commercial customer launches, shouldn’t surprise us. Still, SpaceX’s Starlink missions pose a perfect storm of low-cost, high-launch frequency requirements that could incentivize corner cutting in the short term.
At the same time, it’s unclear whether the Starlink V1 L9 delay was a SpaceX decision or something decided (or heavily influenced) by the US military. Shortly after SpaceX announced the delay, the new regulatory filings suggested that June 28 was the new target, but they were quickly rescinded. The United States Army may have affirmed its desire to be SpaceX’s immediate priority before the launch of an extremely expensive GPS III satellite.
While it is entirely speculative, it is not implausible. If the U.S. Army were to actually step in to request that the GPS III SV03 and the Starlink-9 launch order be exchanged, it might technically benefit from having SpaceX’s more or less complete attention, but it would also lose the Priceless data provided by another release.
In any case, GPS III SV03 is now SpaceX’s next release. Critically, the mission will be the company’s first operational launch. and It landed for the U.S. Air / Space Force after the military branch gave SpaceX permission to try to land the B1060 reinforcement. The launch of GPS III will be SpaceX’s second, after the successful (but expendable) launch of GPS III SV01 and Falcon 9 Booster B1054 in December 2018. This time, the new life of Falcon 9 Block 5 Booster will not necessarily be interrupted. after a single launch as long as the rocket can safely land on an unmanned ship Just read the instructions (JRTI).
The Starlink-9 delay means SpaceX will be able to launch a maximum of three missions in June 2020, shortening the possibility that the month will be the first to host four Falcon 9 launches. However, July now technically has four SpaceX launches scheduled. : Starlink-9 (early July), ANASIS-II (mid-July), SAOCOM 1B (late July), and Starlink-10 (late July). Once again with two Launches scheduled near the end of the month, the odds of one or more missions entering August are substantially higher, but the possibility remains.
Stay tuned for updates as SpaceX prepares for its next 2-5 rocket launches.
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