Bumper rocket launch day blown off track as Elon Musk’s Space X and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin launches postponed until tomorrow
Tuesday was set to be a day which had rocket enthusiasts glued to their screens, with four commercial space missions planned for launches in the United States – but three have been postponed until tomorrow because of strong winds.
The rockets include one made by Elon Musk’s Space X and another by Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, but both have now been put off until Wednesday.
Musk’s rocket was due to launch this afternoon at 2.11pm UK time. It was initially delayed because of “upper level winds”, according to the Space X Twitter account, before eventually being cancelled for the day because of an "out of family reading on first stage sensors".
Space X's Falcon 9 rocket will now launch tomorrow from the same site, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Its payload, a US Air Force satellite, is said to remain in good condition.
SpaceX team called a hold due to an out of family reading on first stage sensors. Vehicle and payload remain healthy; next launch attempt is tomorrow at 9:07 EST, 14:07 UTC.
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 18, 2018
Meanwhile Bezos’ mission was due to launch shortly after, at 2.30pm, but has also been scrapped until tomorrow because of a “ground infrastructure issue”.
“The vehicle is in good standing. Stand by for updates as we see what weather looks like for tomorrow,” the company tweeted.
https://twitter.com/blueorigin/status/1075026214450954241
Also due to launch later today was a rocket made by French company Arianespace, but this has also been delayed until tomorrow because of “unfavorable high-altitude wind conditions,” the company said this afternoon. Arianespace chief executive Stephane Israel also broke the news on Twitter.
Due to high-altitude wind conditions above the launch base, Flight #VS20 has been postponed by 24 hours. The #Soyuz launcher and its CSO-1 spacecraft payload are in a stable and safe condition. New launch timing: Dec. 19 at 16:37:14, UTC.
— Stéphane Israël (@arianespaceceo) December 18, 2018
The final launch of the day is scheduled for a rocket made by United Launch Alliance (ULA), backed by Boeing and Lockheed Martin, pencilled in for 1.57am tomorrow morning UK time, 8.57pm Eastern Standard Time.
Morning Wire understands the ULA launch is still on track to go ahead.
Separately, Musk’s rocket company SpaceX is on course to raise $500m at a $30.5bn valuation in a fundraising round, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.