The Falcon 9 and its Thaicom satellite payload are ready to go. Will Mother Nature cooperate? (credit: SpaceX)
Despite a two-hour window to get off the ground, SpaceX was unable to launch its Falcon 9 rocket this Thursday. According to the company's founder, Elon Musk, the company couldn't conduct the launch due to "a tiny glitch in the motion of an upper stage engine actuator." Better to scrub for 24 hours to investigate the problem and ensure the rocket's readiness, he said.
Whereas the weather was nigh perfect on Thursday, it's a tad less so today. Forecasters anticipate a 60 percent chance of "go" conditions for launch when the two-hour window opens at 5:39pm ET (10:39pm BST). Fresh off two straight launches and unprecedented water landings of its Falcon 9 rocket, SpaceX will try for its third sea-based landing this evening after it launches a 3,000kg Thaicom communications satellite to a supersynchronous transfer orbit.
Like a similar launch three weeks ago, the Thaicom mission requires the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket to reach a high velocity relative to the Earth's surface before separating from its payload. "As with other missions going to geostationary orbits, the first stage will be subject to extreme velocities and reentry heating, making a successful landing challenging," the company stated in its mission overview.
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