After a dazzling evening launch, SpaceX going for Falcon 9 doubleheader

• 

  Launch of the COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation satellite on January 31. [credit: SpaceX ]

For a few days there, it sure seemed like a previously flown Falcon 9 rocket carrying a satellite for the Italian air force would never get off the ground from Florida.

On January 27 and 28, poor weather scrubbed the rocket's launch during the countdown. On January 29, foul weather precluded pre-launch activities from taking place. Finally, the skies cleared on Sunday, January 30. But there was another issue—Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas cruise ship had moved into the marine exclusion zone beneath the Falcon 9 rocket's flight path.

Harmony of the Seas thereby caused discord on land as SpaceX had to scrub the launch of the COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation at T-33 seconds. Weather was good again on Monday evening, and this time, there were no wayward cruise ships to scuttle the flight. Instead, there was harmony on the launch pad, harmony on the seas, and ultimately harmony in space as the Italian satellite successfully made it to orbit.

Read 6 remaining paragraphs | Comments