Hawthorne-Based SpaceX Scrubs Satellite Launch
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com/AP) — A Hawthorne-based space transport company was forced to scrub a privately-financed satellite launch for the second time this week over technical glitches.
The privately owned SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket has experienced several technical issues this year and two attempts to launch on Thanksgiving were aborted.
The rocket was still sitting on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral on Friday, waiting to send a telecommunications satellite into orbit that will help ships communicate, and increase bandwidth in Asia.
SpaceX's Falcon 9 product manager John Insprucker said it was definitely a Thanksgiving Day disappointment.
"Not that way that we wanted to celebrate the national holiday here in the U.S.," Insprucker said. "We have kept the vehicle and the customer's spacecraft safe so that we can come back, give it another attempt."
Officials were expected to try again in a few days to launch the 7,000-pound satellite into geostationary orbit.
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