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Raumfahrt - Start von SpaceX Falcon 9 mit sechs Kommunikationssatelliten für Orbcomm verschoben auf 22.Mai

3.05.2014

SpaceX will launch a Falcon 9 rocket on Saturday. The rocket will be carrying six communications satellites for Orbcomm, a New Jersey-based company. (VIDEO STILL/NASA)

SpaceX set to launch rocket next Saturday

APE CANAVERAL --

Another rocket launch is a week away.

SpaceX will launch a Falcon 9 rocket next Saturday. The rocket will be carrying six communications satellites for Orbcomm, a New Jersey-based company. The satellites are small, and they provide two-way data messaging services.

The window for next Saturday's launch is between 9:39 a.m. and 10:33 a.m.

A Falcon 9 rocket, which is similar to the one launched two weeks ago, will be blasting off from pad No. 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Just like the previous launch, the Falcon 9 rocket will have launch legs to land the first stage rocket off Brevard County's coast in the Atlantic Ocean.

SpaceX is still trying to gather more information on the last splashdown in the Atlantic. Last week, SpaceX released a grainy video feed of the touchdown in the ocean.

SpaceX tried to clean up the images, but it didn't have much luck. A video has been posted to the company's website hoping the public can help out.

"Try to crowd source -- see if people out there can actually make it look even better because I know there are people out there that are really good at fixing video streams," said Elon Musk, founder and CEO of SpaceX.

Musk hopes the rocket legs will allow SpaceX to land the rocket on land at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station by the end of the year -- a move that could save the company millions of dollars by making the rocket reusable.

On Friday, SpaceX successfully launched and landed its prototype rocket in Texas.

Quelle: NEWS13

Update: 8.05.2014

Quelle: SpaceX

Update: 9.05.2014

Forecast good for SpaceX launch

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was raised to its vertical position this morning in anticipation of this afternoon's planned launch.

The forecast looks good for SpaceX's planned 9:47 a.m. Saturday launch of a Falcon 9 rocket carrying a six-pack of commercial satellites from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

There's a 70 percent chance of favorable conditions during the launch window extending to 10:41 a.m., according to the Air Force's 45th Weather Squadron.

SpaceX planned to test-fire a Falcon 9 rocket's main engines today at Launch Complex 40. There was no word by early evening on whether the test was complete and successful.

If the launch slips to Sunday, the forecast improves slightly to 80 percent "go."

The mission is the first of two planned this year for Orbcomm Inc., a New Jersey-based public company specializing in machine-to-machine communications that track the location and health of heavy equipment, truck trailers, rail cars and ships operating around the world.

This upcoming launch will attempt to place the first six Orbcomm Generation 2, or OG2, satellites in low Earth orbit. Eleven more satellites will follow late this year to fill out a constellation of 17.

"We're just a few hours away from the launch of our first OG2 satellite, and are eager to kick off a new chapter for Orbcomm," Chief Financial Officer Robert Costantini told investors Thursday during a conference call reporting quarterly financial results.

Quelle: Florida Today

Update: 22.30 MESZ

SpaceX postpones planned Saturday launch

SpaceX has postponed this weekend's planned launch of a Falcon 9 rocket carrying six commercial satellites for Orbcomm, likely for a couple of weeks.

The company ran into problems while preparing to test-fire a Falcon 9 rocket's main engines, the last major pre-launch milestone.

The so-called static-fire test had been planned Thursday, then was stopped today while the rocket was being fueled.

The launch had been targeted for 9:47 a.m. Saturday, with Sunday as a backup.

"We will keep you posted on when the next launch attempt will take place but it's likely to be later this month," Orbcomm reported on its Web site.

During a conference call on Thursday with investors, Orbcomm CEO Marc Eisenberg said he believed May 26 would be the next potential launch opportunity if the mission was unable to launch this weekend.

That would follow two United Launch Alliance missions coming up soon: the launch of a GPS satellite on a Delta IV rocket planned next Thursday, and of a National Reconnaissance Office satellite on an Atlas V rocket, planned May 22.

When the Falcon 9 is ready, SpaceX will attempt to loft the first six of 17 Orbcomm Generation 2, or OG2, satellites into low Earth orbit.

Quelle: Florida Today

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