spacetoday.net: SpaceX delays ORBCOMM launch to June

Posted: Thu, May 22, 2014, 10:27 AM ET (1427 GMT)
Falcon 9 launch of Thaicom 6 (SpaceX)

SpaceX has rescheduled the launch of six ORBCOMM communications satellites, previously planned for earlier this month, until June as it investigates an issue with the Falcon 9 rocket. The Falcon 9 v1.1 was scheduled to lift off May 10 from Cape Canaveral and place six ORBCOMM Generation 2 satellite into low Earth orbit. However, SpaceX delayed the launch the day before because of what was at the time an unspecified issue with the launch vehicle. SpaceX is now planning the launch no sooner than June 11 to investigate what it says is a helium leak in the rocket's first stage detected during pre-launch tests. The delay could prevent SpaceX from carrying out ten launches this year as previously planned; this will be the third Falcon 9 launch of 2014.