First Launch of SpaceX’s New Version of Falcon 9 Scrubbed at Last Minute – UPDATE
The first launch of “Block 5” of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket was aborted just under 1 minute before liftoff today at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A. The Block 5 is the final version of the Falcon 9 and this inaugural launch will place Bangladesh’s first communications satellite into orbit. SpaceX has rescheduled the launch for tomorrow afternoon. [UPDATE, May 11: The launch was successful at 4:14 pm ET today.]
Today’s launch window was open from 4:17 – 6:22 pm ET. Earlier in the day, SpaceX slipped the launch from 4:17 to 4:47 and then 5:47 pm. It was during the countdown to the 5:47 pm liftoff that computers automatically triggered an abort of the launch sequence.
The rocket and Bangladesh’s Bangabandhu 1 (BS-1) satellite are fine. Bangabandhu means “friend of Bengal” and is used to refer to Bangladesh’s founder Sheikh Majibur Rahman.
SpaceX tweeted after the abort that it was a “standard ground system auto abort,” without further explanation.
Standing down today due to a standard ground system auto abort at T-1 min. Rocket and payload are in good health—teams are working towards tomorrow’s backup launch opportunity at 4:14 p.m. EDT, or 20:14 UTC.
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 10, 2018
The launch window tomorrow is from 4:14 to 6:21 pm ET. The weather forecast is 60 percent “go.”
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