SpaceX Scrubs Rocket Launch 2 Days In A Row
HAWTHORNE (CBSLA.com) — SpaceX in Hawthorne Thursday scrubbed a planned launch of the Falcon 9 rocket for the second straight day.
The mission was aborted just one minute and 40 seconds before launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Wednesday's attempt was also a no-go. There was no immediate word when the rocket maker might try again.
The Falcon 9 rocket was expected to eventually carry a communications satellite known as SES-9 into orbit.
Once the rocket is launched, Space Exploration Technologies will make another effort to guide the rocket back to a barge. The company has failed three times previously to successfully land the rocket on a barge.
SpaceX made history on Dec. 21 when it successfully returned a rocket upright on a pad back at Cape Canaveral after delivering 11 ORBCOMM communications satellites into space.
That landing was a major cost-saving step because expensive rockets can be reused instead of merely being lost into the ocean.
