SpaceX postponed the launch of its Falcon 9 rocket on Sunday night, just minutes after attempting to launch a new fleet of Starlink internet satellites.
Falcon 9 rocket experienced the automatic abort when it's only 90 seconds away from launching 60 Starlink satellites into orbit from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
"Overall, the vehicle and payload are healthy and remain in good health," SpaceX production supervisor Andy Tran said during live launch commentary.
WFTV claims the next launch opportunity on Mar. 1, 8:15 p.m. Eastern time.
Auto-abort at T-1:24 ahead of tonight's Falcon 9 launch of Starlink; next launch opportunity is tomorrow, March 1 at 8:15 p.m. EST
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 1, 2021
SpaceX Falcon 9 Space Launch: Why The Postponement?
The launch abort on Sunday night is the latest setback for this Starlink mission. It was supposed to take off earlier in February, but it was postponed because of different issues.
Aside from a non-answer blaming the Starlink-19 landing failure on "heat damage," no official details from SpaceX's ongoing anomaly investigation have been released. In short, SpaceX has had a rough six weeks or so, and those watching from the sidelines have very little to go on.
According to Teslarati, a SpaceX engineer said during Starlink-17's ill-fated webcast that the company will not be streaming video feeds from the Falcon 9 B1049's cameras during the mission. The remark's vagueness made it challenging to tell whether SpaceX was simply refusing to show those views or if there was a problem with the camera downlink system.
There was no explanation given for the abrupt change. Without even a hint of an official explanation, NASASpaceFlight said it's difficult not to draw a Starlink v1.0 L17 launches after the L18 and L19 missions due to technological, weather, and droneship-related delays.
SpaceX Falcon 9 Space Launch: About This Mission
Space.com says the Starlink 17 mission will be SpaceX's 20th Starlink mission and the company's sixth launch in 2021. SpaceX currently has over 1,000 Starlink satellites in orbit as part of a mega constellation to provide global high-speed internet coverage, particularly to underserved areas.
The first stage booster for Starlink 17 is a Falcon 9 rocket that has already flown seven times. It launched five separate Starlink flights, as well as the Iridium-8 and Telstar 18 Vantage satellite missions.
The booster would be the third Falcon 9 booster to travel eight times. If everything goes well, it will land on the drone ship "Of Course I Still Love You" in the Atlantic Ocean for recovery. As part of SpaceX's reusability program to reduce launch costs, the company's current Block 5 Falcon 9 rockets are designed to fly up to ten times.
The Starlink 17 mission also includes reused payload fairings in addition to the booster (its clamshell-like nosecone). One half is flying for the fourth time, while the other is flying for the third time. The GO Searcher and GO Navigator, two SpaceX recovery ships, are stationed offshore to recover the fairings for later reuse.
According to the 45th Weather Squadron of the United States Space Force, there is a 70% chance of good weather for a SpaceX launch on Monday night.
RELATED ARTICLE : Experts Reveal That 3% Of SpaceX's Starlink Satellites Have Failed In Orbit So Far
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