SpaceX finally launches Falcon 9 Friday night after transporter erector woes, two scrubs
Wednesday night's SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch attempt abruptly halted with about two minutes left on the countdown clock.
Friday, finally, the third time was the charm. The twice-scrubbed Starlink 6-44 mission hurtled skyward into the darkness off pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, deploying another payload of 23 broadband satellites into low-Earth orbit.
In a Thursday tweet, SpaceX officials said teams had to "work through an issue with the transporter erector's cradle arms." The company did not release additional details on the topic.
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After Friday's successful liftoff, the Falcon 9 first-stage booster landed aboard SpaceX's drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas out on the Atlantic Ocean, wrapping up its 19th mission.
The well-traveled booster previously launched GPS III Space Vehicle 04, GPS III Space Vehicle 05, Inspiration4, Ax-1, Nilesat 301, OneWeb Launch 17, ARABSAT BADR-8 and 11 Starlink missions, SpaceX reported. Inspiration4 was the first all-civilian space crew.
The booster event marked SpaceX's 25th launch and landing thus far during 2024, including missions elsewhere in the United States. Friday's launch was Florida's 17th so far this year from KSC and neighboring Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
In other SpaceX news at the Cape, NASA announced the upcoming CRS-30 mission — where a Falcon 9 will launch a Dragon cargo spacecraft carrying science experiments, supplies and equipment to the International Space Station — is scheduled for liftoff at 4:55 p.m. Thursday.
That rocket will lift off from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Afterward, the first-stage booster will produce sonic booms by targeting a landing at the military installation.
For the latest news and launch schedule from KSC and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, visit floridatoday.com/space.
Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at 321-242-3638 or [email protected]. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: SpaceX finally launches Falcon 9 rocket Friday night after two scrubs
