SpaceX set for late-night launch; engine issue delays ULA's Atlas V
Emre Kelly
Update: Liftoff of Falcon 9 with SiriusXM's SXM-8 satellite at 12:26 a.m. ET! Sunday's mission also included a successful drone ship landing in the Atlantic Ocean. Read the full post-launch story here.
SpaceX is set for yet another Falcon 9 rocket launch over the weekend, this time targeting early Sunday for its mission to boost a SiriusXM satellite to orbit.
If weather cooperates, the 230-foot rocket will launch during a two-hour window that opens at 12:25 a.m. Sunday. Conditions around Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Launch Complex 40 are expected to be 60% "go," according to a Friday forecast released by the military branch, with potential for showers and storms.
"Showers and storms are expected inland of the spaceport before sunset, with lingering mid- and upper-level convective debris clouds around for the primary launch late-night window," Space Launch Delta 45 forecasters said. "A few Atlantic showers and cumulus clouds in the vicinity cannot be ruled out."
In the event of a 24-hour delay (to early Monday), weather improves to 80% "go."
Packed into the payload fairing is SXM-8, the latest satellite joining SiriusXM's fleet of radio broadcasters. It follows SXM-7, which also flew on a Falcon 9 from the Cape in December but suffered several payload failures after achieving orbit. SiriusXM later said it would file insurance claims on the spacecraft valued at roughly $225 million.
This will mark the 19th launch of the year for the Space Coast and 18th for Falcon 9.
ULA delays this month's Atlas V mission
United Launch Alliance, meanwhile, on Friday said its next flight of an Atlas V rocket from Launch Complex 41 will have to wait just a little longer.
Citing "vehicle readiness," the company said the mission to launch several Space Force payloads on June 23 will shift to an indeterminate window as teams investigate a hardware issue. Further details were not offered.
ULA CEO Tory Bruno later took to Twitter and said the issue was discovered during Atlas V's last launch of a Space Force missile-warning satellite on May 18. After liftoff and first stage separation, the nozzle of the second stage's Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10 engine vibrated – "ringing" in spaceflight terms – and could be seen in the company's live stream.
"Those watching the live feed may have observed some ringing of RL10s's new carbon nozzle extension," Bruno said via Twitter. "While it did its job, boosting RL10's eye-watering performance even a bit higher, we want to make sure we fully understand that behavior before flying this configuration again."
Bruno also said the mission has not been "indefinitely delayed" and a new schedule will likely be determined soon. The rocket, with five strap-on solid rocket boosters, will fly in its most powerful configuration.
ULA is also responsible for launching Boeing's re-do of an uncrewed Starliner capsule test flight to the International Space Station on July 30, but the second stage engine issue is not applicable to that mission because it uses a different configuration.
For the latest, visit floridatoday.com/launchschedule.
Contact Emre Kelly at aekelly@floridatoday.com or 321-242-3715. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @EmreKelly. Support space journalism by subscribing at floridatoday.com/specialoffer/.
Launch Sunday, June 6
- Rocket: SpaceX Falcon 9
- Mission: SiriusXM satellite
- Launch Time: 12:25 a.m. ET
- Launch Window: To 2:26 a.m. ET
- Launch Complex: 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
- Landing: Just Read the Instructions drone ship
- Weather: 60% "go"
Visit floridatoday.com/space at 11:30 p.m. Saturday, June 6, for live updates and video.