SpaceX Delays Saturday’s Falcon 9 Launch
By Space Coast Daily // March 17, 2015
launch rescheduled for March 28
BREVARD COUNTY • CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION – The SpaceX launch of a European-built communications satellite has been rescheduled to March 28, according to SpaceX president and chief operating officer Gwynne Shotwell.
The liftoff had been set for 4:04 p.m. EDT on Saturday.
Shotwell said there was an issue with the Falcon 9’s high-pressure helium system and the decision was made to delay the launch at least one week.
The mission will deliver the TurkmenAlem52E/MonacoSat communications satellite to orbit. Built by Thales, the spacecraft is owned by the government of Turkmenistan and is set to become the country’s first satellite.
TurkmenSat 1 is Turkmenistan’s first national satellite and will support communications over Central Asia.
Falcon 9 is SpaceX’s two-stage rocket manufactured to successfully transport satellites and their Dragon spacecraft into orbit.
Currently the only rocket fully designed and developed in the 21st century, Falcon 9 delivers payloads to space aboard the Dragon spacecraft or inside a composite fairing.
ABOVE VIDEO: This test flight of the Falcon 9 Reusable (F9R) rocket was conducted in 2014 at a SpaceX rocket development facility. Falcon 9 is a two-stage rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX for the reliable and safe transport of satellites and the Dragon spacecraft into orbit. As the first rocket completely developed in the 21st century, Falcon 9 was designed from the ground up for maximum reliability.
Safety and mission success were critical in the design of the Falcon 9 Rocket.
With a minimal number of separation events and nine first-stage Merlin engines, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is designed so that even if two of the engines shut down, the rocket can still operate.
