SpaceX Delays Rocket Launch, Eyes Potential Spaceflight 'Doubleheader'
By Tariq Malik, Space.com Managing Editor | June 18, 2017 10:30pm ET
SpaceX has delayed the launch of its next Falcon 9 rocket to at least Friday (June 23), setting the stage for a possible "weekend doubleheader," company representatives said this weekend.
On Sunday (June 18), SpaceX announced it had pushed back the Monday afternoon launch of a Bulgarian communications satellite to no earlier than Friday so ground crews could replace a valve on the Falcon 9 booster.
The delay means SpaceX will now launch a previously flown Falcon 9 rocket with the Bulgarian satellite (called BulgariaSat-1) from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, then launch another commercial satellite mission on Sunday (June 25) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. That Sunday flight will use a new Falcon 9 to launch 10 new satellites for the Virginia-based company Iridium, which is building a 70-satellite constellation for its Iridium NEXT mobile communications network.
"Standing down on BulgariaSat-1 to replace a fairing valve, next launch opportunities are 6/23 and 6/24," SpaceX representatives wrote in a Twitter message Sunday.
More:
https://www.space.com/37237-spacex-rocket-launch-delay-weekend-doubleheader.html?utm_source=notification