Wednesday, February 11, 2015

SpaceX Set To Launch Space Weather Satellite, But Weather Nixes Landing Test

Hawthorne-based SpaceX was minutes away from a launch of an Air Force space weather satellite, on its third try, as of Wednesday afternoon--but nixed testing recovery of its first stage, due to "extreme weather" in the Atlantic Ocean. SpaceX was scheduled to launch at 6:03pm ET. SpaceX said earlier on Wednesday that waves in the Atlantic--up to three stories in height--would prevent the company from trying to recover the first stage of its rocket on launch. The company also said its landing platform--which it refers to as a "drone"--only had three of four engines working, making it very difficult for the platform to deal with the waves.