SpaceX scraps launch of military satellite after strong winds | TheHill - The Hill

Elon Musk's SpaceX canceled its scheduled launch of a military satellite on Saturday, citing unfavorable weather conditions.

"Standing down today due to strong upper level winds," the company wrote on Twitter, adding that it would try again to launch on Sunday. "Team is proceeding with the count until T-30 seconds for data collection. Next launch attempt is tomorrow at 8:51 a.m. EST, 13:51 UTC."

Standing down today due to strong upper level winds. Team is proceeding with the count until T-30 seconds for data collection. Next launch attempt is tomorrow at 8:51 a.m. EST, 13:51 UTC.
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 22, 2018

Saturday marked the company's fourth attempt to launch this week after technical and weather delays.

If successful, Sunday's launch will be the first national security space mission for the United States by Musk's company, Reuters reported.

SpaceX won an $83 million contract from the Air Force in 2016 to launch the GPS III satellite.

The satellites are being built by Lockheed Martin under contracts worth a combined $12.6 billion for the Air Force GPS III program, according to Reuters.

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