Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) pushed Monday’s launch to Thursday to investigate unexpected readings in the first stage liquid oxygen system, company spokeswoman Hannah Post said in an email.
SpaceX will try again at 5:38 p.m. EST from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. This will be the company’s second scheduled launch with its improved Falcon 9, which features better safety and reliability enhancements and greater lift capability.
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| SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifts off in March. Photo: SpaceX. |
SpaceX is scheduled to deliver the SES-8 commercial telecommunications satellite developed by Orbital Sciences [ORB] to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) via SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. If all goes according to plan, SES-8 will be deployed into GTO approximately 33 minutes after liftoff. This is SpaceX’s first Falcon 9 launch to GTO.
SES-8 is a hybrid Ku- and Ka-band spacecraft based on Orbital’s GEOStar-2 platform. The satellite will provide communications coverage of south Asia and Asia-Pacific regions.