After the cleanup, SpaceX is aiming for the launch of its cargo ship by NASA on Saturday morning



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A new Falcon 9 rocket and a Dragon spaceship on the platform Thursday.
Enlarge / A new Falcon 9 rocket and a Dragon spaceship on the platform Thursday.

SpaceX

Early Friday morning, minutes after the opening and closing of an instant launch window, SpaceX canceled the launch of its Falcon 9 rocket and Cargo Dragon mission to the International Space Station.

The company said it made the decision to withdraw due to an "electrical problem" on its site. Of course I still love you droneship, positioned just off to the first floor of the Falcon 9 rocket. This is the first time that SpaceX interrupts a launch attempt due to a problem related to the recovery of a first amplifier . The company can probably thank NASA for being an understanding customer.

After the cleanup, SpaceX also said that there was a ground-level helium leak that he wanted to check before the next rocket launch attempt. This leak was in a "quick disconnect" interface of the second stage of the rocket, where helium is used to pressurize the fuel tanks.

Weather conditions had been a source of concern for Friday morning's launch attempt, but by 0311 (ET) (0711 UTC), the rains had remained well off the coast and SpaceX had started refueling the rocket. . If Dragon starts Saturday morning, he will arrive at the station on Monday.

The Instant Launch window opens at 2:48 (ET) (6:48 UTC) Saturday morning. The weather conditions should be favorable, with a probability of "departure" of 70%. If the Falcon 9 rocket can not attempt this launch attempt for any reason, officials said at a press conference on Thursday that the Cape Canaveral launch field would enter a week of maintenance and would cease its launches during this period.

SpaceX will be using a new Falcon 9 rocket for this launch attempt, but the Cargo Dragon spacecraft has already flew to the International Space Station in August 2017. For this mission, it will carry approximately 2.5 tons of supplies to the station, including more than 700 kg of scientific experiments, as well as the transport of the Observatory of Carbon 3 orbit and space test program – Houston 6 NASA in its safe without pressure. As part of a contract for 20 missions in total, it will be SpaceX's 17th Space Mission supply mission to NASA.

Overall, it will be the fifth launch of the company in 2019 and the 70th launch of the Falcon 9 rocket by SpaceX. This story will be updated with webcast information and other relevant details as they become available the next day.

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