SpaceX aborts launch of 23 Starlink satellites in final minute (video) (Image Credit: Space.com)
SpaceX aborted the launch of 23 Starlink broadband satellites during the final minute of the countdown on Sunday (Aug. 11).
A Falcon 9 rocket topped with the 23 Starlink spacecraft was scheduled to lift off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sunday, during a 3.5-hour window that opened at 7:21 a.m. EDT (1121 GMT).
SpaceX pushed the attempt to the end of the window, then aborted the try with 46 seconds left in the countdown. The company didn’t immediately give a reason for the abort but said via X that the rocket is in good health and will be good to go for another launch attempt on Monday (Aug. 12).
If the Falcon 9 does fly on Monday, and all goes according to plan, its first stage will return to Earth about eight minutes after launch, touching down on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
It will be the 17th launch and landing for this particular booster, according to SpaceX.
The Falcon 9’s upper stage, meanwhile, will deploy the 23 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit about 64 minutes after launch.
Related: Starlink satellite train: how to see and track it in the night sky
Sunday’s planned launch was part of a busy weekend for SpaceX. The company launched 21 Starlink satelllites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, which is next door to KSC, on Saturday morning (Aug. 10).
And another Falcon 9 will lift off tonight from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base, carrying two satellites aloft on the Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission. The ASBM is designed to provide coverage in the Arctic for the U.S. Space Force and the state-owned company Space Norway.
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 11:15 a.m. ET on Aug. 11 with news of the launch abort.
