SpaceX Launch Delay: Elon Musk's Falcon 9 Rocket Liftoff Postponed After Cruise Ship Enters Hazard Area
The SpaceX launch of the Falcon 9 rocket has been stalled once more, this time after a cruise ship veered into the exclusion zone along the flight path.
For the past few days, Elon Musk's rocket company, SpaceX, has been trying to send an Italian surveillance satellite into orbit. SpaceX stands down from the mission yet again and will prepare for a 24-hour turnaround, per Florida Today.
On Sunday, the company's launch director put an end to the SpaceX launch from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida with little over 30 seconds to go.
"We have a red range for a fouled range with a ship in the hazard area," the call heard over the control room audio, according to Forbes.
Cruise ships frequently stop in Port Canaveral, which is close to the Kennedy Space Center and the Space Force Station. Ahead of rocket launches, notices are sent out to all mariners so they know which waters to avoid and when to avoid them.
Launch engineers waited as long as possible for the Coast Guard to resolve the situation but ultimately ran out of time to meet the immediate launch window's deadline.
The ship was only identified as a "cruise liner" by SpaceX and the Coast Guard has not responded to inquiries as of late Sunday, Forbes reported.
A Coast Guard investigation is currently underway, according to a Port Canaveral spokesperson.
SpaceX Launch: Fifth Satellite Attempt on Monday
For the fifth attempt at launching an Italian Space Agency Earth observation satellite, teams are now targeting 6:11 p.m. (EST) Monday, January 31.
If it is unable to fly on schedule, SpaceX will focus on a national defense payload on February 2 in California's Vandenberg Space Force Base.
According to the Space Force, the weather for the Monday attempt is projected to be at least 90% "go."
SpaceX Launch of Starlink Satellites Also Delayed
Every mission is issued with hazard areas, which are designed to reduce the chance of people being injured if a rocket fails.
Space Launch Delta 45 issued a statement earlier this month warning pilots and mariners that there would be up to five polar launches in January alone.
Sunday's launch marks the fourth.
The 2022 launch schedule is expected to be extremely active with up to five polar and seven total launches planned for the month of January alone, according to Space Force Major Jonathan Szul in a statement.
There is a greater potential impact on air and sea traffic along the southeast coast of Florida due to the unique southerly trajectories.
Another Falcon 9 rocket at Kennedy Space Center's pad 39A will have to wait a little longer to launch the company's 37th batch of Starlink broadband satellites.
It was originally slated for Monday, but Sunday's scrub also pushed the SpaceX mission.
READ MORE: Elon Musk Offers 'Stalker' $5,000 To Stop Tracking His Plane Location, Saying It Is a Security Risk
This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Jess Smith
WATCH: BREAKING NEWS: Cruise Ship Scrubs SpaceX Launch! - from The Cruise Junkie
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