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SpaceX Delays Historic Small-Satellite Launch (Again)
By Hanneke Weitering, Space.com Staff Writer | November 28, 2018 07:30am ET
SpaceX has once again delayed the launch of its historic SSO-A ride-share mission, which was scheduled to launch 64 small satellites on a twice-reused Falcon 9 rocket on Wednesday (Nov. 28).
Dubbed "SSO-A: SmallSat Express," the mission was scheduled to lift off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on a Falcon 9 rocket at 1:31 p.m. EST (1831 GMT) before landing on a drone ship in the Pacific Ocean. If eventually successful, this would be the third launch and landing of this "Block 5" Falcon 9 rocket booster — a historic first for SpaceX's reusable rockets.
But now, the rocket and its flock of small satellites will be grounded until at least Saturday (Dec. 1), according to the U.S. Air Force 30th Space Wing at Vandenberg. "The SpaceX Falcon 9 SSO-A launch is delayed due to weather," the 30th Space Wing wrote on Facebook. [SpaceX's 1st 'Block 5' Falcon 9 Rocket: The Launch Photos]
SpaceX later added in a tweet that the delay was due to extreme high altitude winds, and that the company would announce a new launch date "once confirmed with the Range."
More:
https://www.space.com/42562-spacex-scrubs-historic-ssoa-launch-again.html?utm_source=notification