SpaceX scrubbed the planned fourth launch attempt of the Falcon 1 rocket, pushing the flight back to Sep. 28. The team cancelled the launch to swap out a liquid oxygen feed line saying they are being "extremely cautious" of anything that could jeopardize their fourth attempt to make orbit.
SpaceX had said previously that if they did not launch by Sep. 25 they would have to wait until late October for their next launch window. However, on Sept. 23 the company announced it had a new launch window of Sep. 28 to Oct. 1. They remain on track for a Sunday launch.
A live webcast will begin at 3:30 p.m. PDT with a launch as early at 4:00 p.m. The launch window will continue at this time each day through Oct. 1.
Falcon 1's first flight in 2006 lasted less than a minute, the second flight in 2007 fired for 7.5 minutes, and the third flight last month encountered a staging separation anomaly just shy of three minutes. To successfully reach orbit, they need a clean 9.5 minutes of flight.
See Also:
- SpaceX's Fourth Launch Attempt as Early as Tomorrow
- SpaceX Announces DragonLab, Falcon 9 Pad License
- SpaceX: 'We have heard from launch control that there has been an anomaly'
- SpaceX: Why Else Would We Put Windows On A Cargo Vehicle?
Photo: Static test of Falcon 1, Flight 4 on September 20, 2008. Courtesy SpaceX
