SpaceX Scrubs Rocket Launch of NASA Mission, Next Try Wednesday at Vandenberg | Local News
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
SpaceX Scrubs Rocket Launch of NASA Mission, Next Try Wednesday at Vandenberg
SpaceX says it will try again Wednesday with the 57-minute window opening at 11:13 a.m. The first-stage booster will return to Vandenberg about eight minutes after departure. The landing is expected to generate sonic booms that may be heard around Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Luis Obispo counties. The primary cargo aboard the rocket will be NASA’s Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites, or TRACERS, mission. A live webcast of the mission is scheduled to begin about 15 minutes before liftoff.
The team reportedly will try again Wednesday with the 57-minute window opening at 11:13 a.m.
The rocket will liftoff from Space Launch Complex-4 on South Base, and the first-stage booster will return to Vandenberg about eight minutes after departure. The landing is expected to generate sonic booms that may be heard around Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Luis Obispo counties.
Tuesday morning, the countdown continued toward zero when, with less than a minute until liftoff, the launch director declared “hold, hold, hold.”
“We have aborted launch for the day due to airspace concerns. We are proceeding into nominal offload operations,” the launch director said.
SpaceX later explained the delay was “due to FAA airspace concerns that created a no-go condition for launch.”
At the same time, the Federal Aviation Administration reported ground stops for Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo airports due to “equipment outage.”
The Western Range ensures Vandenberg’s rocket launches and missile tests occur safely, including alerting pilots and boaters areas to avoid due to an upcoming mission.
SpaceX said the rocket and satellites remain in good health after the scrubbed launch attempt.
The primary cargo aboard the rocket will be NASA’s Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites, or TRACERS, mission.
The twin craft will explore how Earth’s magnetic shield — the magnetosphere — protects the planet from the supersonic stream of material, dubbed solar wind, generated by the sun.
A number of smaller satellites also will tag along on the trek.
Deployment of two of the hitchhiker payloads will begin about 54 minutes after liftoff, with the TRACERS twins separating 90 to 100 minutes after departure, followed by three other small satellites.
To watch the liftoff and landing in person, the Lompoc Valley has multiple locations offering views of the launch pad and landing site. Those include the peak of Harris Grade Road, west of Lompoc’s city limits and around Vandenberg Village, including near the intersection of Moonglow and Stardust roads.
A live webcast of the mission is scheduled to begin about 15 minutes before liftoff at spacex.com/launches and on X @SpaceX.