Delta IV Heavy NROL-44 On Launch Pad 37B, File Photo Courtesy United Launch Alliance
Delta IV Heavy Launch Scrubbed
September 29, 2020 | Reported by Cliff Lethbridge
Launch of a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket scheduled for 11:58 p.m. EDT today has been scrubbed. Bad weather plagued launch preparations throughout the day but a hydraulic leak in a ground system needed to roll the Mobile Service Tower away from the rocket was discovered and sealed the fate of this launch attempt. The leak must be repaired before another launch attempt, although the company says the launch has been rescheduled for Wednesday, September 30, 2020 at 11:54 p.m. EDT. Launch will be from Launch Pad 37B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and the rocket will be carrying NROL-44, a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office.
Delta IV Heavy NROL-44 On Launch Pad 37B, File Photo Courtesy United Launch Alliance
Falcon 9 Starlink On Launch Pad 39A, Photo Courtesy Liz Allen/Spaceline
Falcon 9/Delta IV Heavy Launches Scrubbed
September 28, 2020 | Reported by Cliff Lethbridge
Launches of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket have been scrubbed due to bad weather. The Falcon 9 was scheduled for launch at 10:22 a.m. EDT today from Launch Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center but was officially scrubbed less than a minute before launch due to clouds and rain in the launch area. Launch was also scrubbed on September 17, 2020 due to bad weather followed by a lengthy delay due to bad weather on the Atlantic Ocean about 400 miles northeast of Cape Canaveral where recovery of the rocket's first stage and payload fairing were planned. Launch has not been rescheduled as it must await two others with greater priority on the range. Launch of a Delta IV Heavy rocket scheduled for 12:02 a.m. EDT on September 29, 2020 has also been scrubbed due to bad weather. Launch has been rescheduled for 11:58 p.m. EDT on September 29, 2020. The Falcon 9 rocket will be carrying 60 Starlink broadband Internet satellites while the Delta IV Heavy will be carrying a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office.
Clouds And Rain At Launch Complex 39, Photo Courtesy Liz Allen/Spaceline
Falcon 9 Starlink On Launch Pad 39A, Photo Courtesy Liz Allen/Spaceline
Falcon 9 Starlink Launch Scrubbed;
ULA Announces Delta IV Heavy Launch Date
September 17, 2020 | Reported by Cliff Lethbridge
Launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket scheduled for 2:19 p.m. EDT today has been scrubbed. SpaceX cited "recovery issues" as the reason for the scrub, presumably due to bad weather on the Atlantic Ocean about 400 miles northeast of Cape Canaveral, where attempts to recover the rocket's first stage booster and payload fairing will occur. Launch will be from Launch Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center and the rocket will be carrying 60 SpaceX-owned Starlink broadband Internet satellites. Launch has been rescheduled for Friday, September 18 at 1:57 p.m. EDT, recovery weather permitting. Weather may also be a problem at the launch site, where there is officially just a 30% chance of acceptable weather for a launch attempt on Friday.
In related news, United Launch Alliance (ULA) today announced a new launch date for their Delta IV Heavy rocket. The rocket experienced a dramatic launch pad abort just three seconds before launch on August 29, 2020. Launch has been rescheduled for September 26, 2020 in a launch window which extends from 12:01 a.m. to 1:35 a.m. EDT. Launch will be from Launch Pad 37B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. In a press release, ULA said that the launch pad abort was caused by a "ground system regulator internal component failure". There is a regulator for each of the three Delta IV Heavy Common Booster Cores, and the company says all three will be replaced and retested prior to launch. The rocket will be carrying the NROL-44 classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office.
Delta IV Heavy Launch Pad Abort, Photo Courtesy Liz Allen/Spaceline
Falcon 9 Starlink Launch, Photo Courtesy SpaceX
Falcon 9 Launches 60 Starlink Satellites
September 3, 2020 | Reported by Cliff Lethbridge
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched 60 Starlink broadband satellites at 8:46 a.m. EDT today from Launch Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. The first stage booster employed today was being flown for the second time, having previously supported the GPS III SV-03 mission in June, 2020. The booster was successfully recovered today with a landing on the "Of Course I Still Love You" drone ship positioned on the Atlantic Ocean about 400 miles northeast of Cape Canaveral. The satellites were deployed about 15 minutes after launch. This was the twelfth launch of Starlink satellites, bringing the total launched since May, 2019 to 713. The number represents the largest satellite constellation in the world. Starlink is a SpaceX-owned and operated space-based Internet service provider which is currently being tested and may be commercially available to users in the northern United States and Canada later this year and the entire world in 2021. The target number of Starlink satellites for worldwide service is 1,440 and SpaceX may ultimately launch as many as 42,000 of them.
