SpaceX’s repeatedly-delayed eighth West Coast launch was expected to take to the skies at dawn today.
Officials expected the launch to deliver a stunning show with the rocket-exhaust vapor catching the rising sun’s rays in clear conditions.
T-60 minutes until Falcon 9 launch of PAZ. Launch webcast will go live about 15 minutes before liftoff → https://t.co/gtC39uBC7z
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) February 22, 2018
A Wednesday liftoff at the same time – 6:17 a.m. – was was halted because of strong winds.
“High altitude wind shear data shows a probable 2% load exceedance,” CEO Elon Musk tweeted after the delay. “Small, but better to be paranoid. Postponing launch to tomorrow, assuming winds are better then.”
Residents who caught SpaceX’s unexpected light show on Dec. 22 were looking forward to the launch, which promised similar conditions that could broadcast the ghostly rocket-exhaust vapor far and wide.
This time, the Falcon 9 rocket is carrying a Spanish imaging satellite named Paz. The mission was also delayed on Feb. 16 and Feb. 18 for different reasons, including added systems checks and reviews of the rocket’s fairing, or nose cone.
Hawthorne-based SpaceX hopes to successfully recover the fairing for the first time on this trip. It has a specially-designed ship named Mr. Steven engineered to catch the 4-story-tall rocket part with a net stretched over four giant claw-like arms.
The 205-foot-long vessel, usually docked in San Pedro’s outer harbor at the Port of Los Angeles, was deployed off Baja California for the recovery. Musk described the ship as “a giant catcher’s mitt in boat form.
The rocket’s booster, however, will not be recovered. It’s making its second trip to the edge of Earth’s atmosphere following a successful mission in August 2017.
The rocket will also be carrying two microsatellites to test SpaceX’s planned massive constellation of broadband Internet satellites in low-Earth orbit.The advanced Paz satellite on board the rocket, owned by Hisdesat, will be used by scientific, commercial and government customers.
Among its potential uses, the company lists: “border control, intelligence, environmental control, protection of natural resources, military operations, verification of international treaties, monitoring of the land surface, urban planning, infrastructure planning, assessment of natural disasters and cartography of high resolution, among many other applications.”
https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/02/22/spacex-tries-again-today-for-dawn-launch-of-advanced-spanish-satellite-and-fairing-recovery/Bagikan Berita Ini
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