SpaceX CRS-5 Delayed to No Earlier Than January 6 – UPDATE

UPDATE, December 18, 10:25 am EST:  A link to the statement NASA finally put out is added, along with information on the status of the pre-launch briefings.

SpaceX confirmed to SpacePolicyOnline this morning that its fifth operational cargo mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will be postponed from tomorrow (December 19) to no earlier than January 6, 2015.

SpaceX spokesman John Taylor said via email that the delay is due to an “abundance of caution” following a static fire test yesterday that did not achieve all of its objectives.  “While the recent static fire test accomplished nearly all of our goals, the test did not run the full duration.  The data suggests that we could push forward without a second attempt, but out of an abundance of caution, we are opting to execute a second static fire test prior to launch.”

The next launch opportunity is not until January 6 because of the time it will take to conduct the second test, limited launch opportunities during the holiday period, and a beta angle cutout period when the Sun’s angle to the ISS prevents certain on-orbit activities like berthing Dragon, he added.  The beta angle cutout period is December 28-January 7.

If the launch takes place on January 6, Dragon would arrive at the ISS on January 8, after the cutout period ends.  January 7 is a backup launch date.

The likelihood of a delay was first reported by Chris Bergin of NASASpaceflight.com yesterday via Twitter, but not confirmed by SpaceX (or NASA) until this morning.

SpaceX has a full launch manifest, including the January 23 launch of the NOAA-NASA-Air Force Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) on January 23.  What impact the SpX-5 slip may have on other launches is unclear at the moment.   NOAA will hold a media teleconference this morning at 11:00 am EST where more information about the DSCOVR launch may be made available.

NASA finally issued a statement at about 10:15 am EST confirming the postponement and clarifying that three pre-launch briefings scheduled for today will be rescheduled for January 5.  If the launch takes place on January 6, the launch time is 6:18 am Eastern Standard Time (EST).