Florida Today reports that SpaceX’s latest attempt “at launching another batch of Starlink internet satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station was scrubbed just seconds before liftoff early Friday.” Originally set to fly “during an hour-and-a-half long window that opened at 12:10 a.m. EDT, the mission to send 54 of the flat-pack satellites to low-Earth orbit was aborted forty seconds before liftoff from Launch Complex 40.” No reason “for the scrub was immediately provided by SpaceX.” SpaceX’s next opportunity “to launch the 230-foot rocket on a southeasterly trajectory is early Saturday, July 15, at 12:15 a.m. EDT.”
Full Story (Florida Today)
Tag: July 14
India’s Chandrayaan-3 Moon Landing Mission Set to Launch
SPACE reports that India’s second attempt “at a daring, homegrown moon landing will kick off this week.” The nation’s Chandrayaan-3 mission, whose name means “moon vehicle” in Sanskrit, is “scheduled to launch toward the moon on Friday (July 14) at 5:05 a.m. EDT (0905 GMT, or 2:35 p.m. local time on July 14) from the island of Sriharikota, on India’s east coast.” A three-stage rocket “called the Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3) will ferry the robotic moon lander and rover duo that make up the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft into an Earth parking orbit, a stable circular path around Earth that allows the mission team to ensure all instruments are working well post launch.” Soon after, the spacecraft “will be placed on a lunar transfer trajectory, beginning its deep-space journey.”
Full Story (SPACE)