World News – GB – SpaceX abandons launch of advanced GPS satellite for US Space Force

SpaceX halted the launch of a Falcon 9 rocket carrying an improved global positioning (GPS) satellite for the US Space Force on Friday (Oct 2)

Launch controllers canceled the launch about two seconds before the company’s Falcon 9 rocket was supposed to take off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Base in Florida The rocket was expected to launch the next-generation SV04 GPS III satellite into orbit at 9.43 a.m.m EDT (0143 GMT on Oct 3)

The next opportunity to launch this mission is Saturday 9:39 pm EDT (0139 GMT on Oct 4), SpaceX senior integration engineer John Insprucker said in a launch commentary

At the time of the cancellation, it was unclear whether SpaceX had aborted the launch due to an issue with the rocket or ground support systems, Insprucker said. Whether SpaceX can retry the launch on Saturday night will depend on how long it takes the company to identify and resolve the issue that led to the cancellation, he added.

Once launched, the SV04 GPS III satellite will be the fourth in a series of 10 next-generation GPS satellites upgraded for the US military SpaceX launched two of these satellites in December 2018 and in June this year , while another was launched on a Delta IV Medium rocket in August 2019

Another Falcon 9 rocket suffered a launch failure Thursday as it attempted to launch 60 new Starlink Internet satellites from station 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral near the station’s SpaceX Air Force has not officially announced a new launch date for this mission

Join our space forums to keep talking about the latest missions, the night sky and more! And if you have a tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community @ spacecom

Space is part of Future US Inc, a leading international media group and digital publisher Visit our corporate site

SpaceX, Falcon 9, United States Space Force, United Launch Alliance, Space launch, GPS Block III, Rocket