SpaceX fourth attempt delayed by Cruise ship
January 31, 2022
By Chris Forrester
Elon Musk’s SpaceX launch team have had a troubled weekend.
First, three scheduled launches of an Italian satellite were scrubbed because of bad weather at Cape Canaveral. The rescheduled launch was planned for January 30th (6.11pm Florida time) but a cruise liner sailed into the formal ’no go’ zone waters downrange from the Cape and the launch was scrubbed again.
A new launch opportunity is scheduled for the afternoon of January 31st where – hopefully – the Falcon 9’s booster rocket will land back at onto solid ground near the launch site.
The launch has to happen in order that the – inevitably delayed – launch of 49 Starlink satellites can take place from Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. The Starlink launch is now scheduled for January 31st at 2.17pm (Florida time) or 5.34pm subject to weather and operational planning.
The booster for this launch will land downrange on the SpaceX floating barge.