Hawthorne-based SpaceX scrubbed the launch of a U.S. Air Force GPS satellite Tuesday from Cape Canaveral in Florida.
SpaceX called of the launch due to a readying on a first-stage sensor just minutes before the launch window closed. Another launch window is planned for Wednesday.
The rocket will carry a GPS III SV01 satellite nicknamed Vespucci in honor of Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci. If successful, it will be the 21st launch of the year for SpaceX.
The SpaceX launch was one of four scheduled for Tuesday, when United Launch Alliance, Blue Origin and Arianespace were all counting down to lift-off. The Arianespace mission will carry a satellite for the French military into space at 8:37 a.m. A ULA Delta IV Heavy rocket is set for liftoff from the Southern California Coast Tueday night.
Blue Origin's reusable space vehicle was scheduled for launch from a site in West Texas, but that mission was scrubbed for Tuesday due to what the company called a ground infrastructure issue.
SpaceX will be using a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket for the launch. While the Block 5 variety of the Falcon 9 was designed to be re-usable in as many as 10 missions, SpaceX will not attempt to recover the rocket, meaning it will be allowed to splash into the sea.
It was unclear exactly why SpaceX -- which prides itself on recovering rockets for future use by landing them back on the ground or on a barge at sea -- will not attempt to recover the multimillion-dollar rocket. A company executive told reporters recently the rocket will not be outfitted with any landing equipment, and described the launch as a "challenging mission."
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SpaceX officially stated that it would not attempt to recover the rocket "due to mission requirements." Some pundits have speculated that the parameters of the mission would not leave enough excess fuel for a booster-rocket reentry burn, or possibly that SpaceX's customer -- the Air Force -- didn't want a recovery effort to elevate the risk level for the overall mission.
The satellite itself was built by Lockheed Martin. A company executive said the satellite "will be the first step in modernizing the Air Force's GPS constellation with the most powerful and resilient GPS satellites ever designed and built."
The satellite being launched Tuesday will join 31 GPS satellites already in orbit. Air Force officials said the constellation will "provide the `gold standard' in positioning, navigation and timing services for more than 4 billion users worldwide." SpaceX is already under contract to launch four more GPS III missions.
