CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION — SpaceX aborted its third launch attempt of its Starlink mission with 1 second to go on the countdown clock Friday.
The company did not explain why the countdown was stopped.
What You Need To Know
- SpaceX will send off Starlink 10-2 mission
- The takeoff will happen at Space Launch Complex 40
SpaceX will share a new target launch time when it was available, according to a post on X, previously known as Twitter.
Standing down from today’s Falcon 9 launch. A new target launch date will be shared once available
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 14, 2024
SpaceX had to scrub the launch Thursday because of poor weather conditions. It was scheduled to lift off at 4:45 p.m. Friday but was delayed twice, to 4:49 p.m. and then 5:07 p.m., before the attempt was aborted.
The company also scrubbed the first attempt on Wednesday of the Starlink 10-2 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station due to poor weather conditions.
Sweet 16 launch
This will be the Sweet 16 launch for the Falcon 9's first-stage booster B1073. It has 15 missions it is already proud of:
- ispace’s HAKUTO-R and NASA’s Lunar Flashlight
- SES-22 telecommunications satellite
- Amazonas Nexus
- CRS-27
- Bandwagon-1
- 9 Starlink satellite missions
After the stage separation, the first-stage rocket should land on the droneship Just Read the Instructions that will be in the Atlantic Ocean.
About the mission
The 22 satellites from the Starlink company, owned by SpaceX, will be heading to low-Earth orbit.
Dr. Jonathan McDowell, of Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, has been documenting Starlink satellites.
Before this launch, McDowell recorded the following:
- 6,153 are in orbit
- 5,237 are in operational orbit
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