Today, SpaceX will attempt to relaunch the rocket it was supposed to launch yesterday.
Image: SpaceX
Earlier this week, SpaceX aborted both of its attempts to launch a satellite payload on behalf of communications satellite services provider Intelsat. Earlier today, however, the Luxembourg-based company tweeted that SpaceX has given it the green light for this morning — the 58-minute launch window will open at 7:37PM EDT (9:37AM AEST).
Following a complete review of all criteria, @SpaceX has confirmed we are ‘Go’ for #launch tonight. Window opens at 7:37 pm EDT. Go IS-35e! pic.twitter.com/T0VM5iyCzo
— Intelsat (@INTELSAT) July 5, 2017
The Orlando Sentinel reports that there will be no attempt to recover the Falcon 9 rocket that will blast off today from Pad 39A in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The satellite will be placed in a high geostationary transfer orbit, and there isn’t enough fuel to bring the rocket back to Earth for recovery.
Still, it will be fun to watch a hunk of metal take off into Earth’s atmosphere, especially after the mission was scrubbed two days in a row. According to Elon Musk, SpaceX spent the Fourth of July (local time) “doing a full review of rocket & pad systems” to prep for today’s launch. Sunday’s launch was cancelled due to a computer guidance system error. Monday’s launch is still a bit of a mystery — Gizmodo has reached out to SpaceX for a statement regarding it but had not heard back at time of writing.
If all goes according to plan, this will mark SpaceX’s third launch in two weeks. So sit back, relax, and (hopefully) enjoy a nice rocket launch. You can do that below, as soon as the launch window opens: