{"id":19068,"date":"2017-02-19T01:09:36","date_gmt":"2017-02-18T17:09:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/technical-issue-forces-spacex-to-put-its-first-liftoff-from-historic-pad-39a-on-hold\/"},"modified":"2017-02-19T01:09:36","modified_gmt":"2017-02-18T17:09:36","slug":"technical-issue-forces-spacex-to-put-its-first-liftoff-from-historic-pad-39a-on-hold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/technical-issue-forces-spacex-to-put-its-first-liftoff-from-historic-pad-39a-on-hold\/","title":{"rendered":"Technical issue forces SpaceX to put its first liftoff from historic Pad 39A on hold"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Falcon
SpaceX\u2019s Falcon 9 sits on Kennedy Space Center\u2019s Launch Pad 39A. (NASA via YouTube)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SpaceX postponed the first launch from NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center since the last shuttle flight in 2011, due to concerns about a control system on the Falcon 9 rocket\u2019s second stage.<\/p>\n

The Falcon 9 had been due to loft a robotic Dragon cargo capsule into orbit from the center\u2019s Launch Pad 39A in Florida, delivering 5,500 pounds worth of supplies and experiments for the International Space Station.<\/p>\n

But with less than 20 seconds left in today\u2019s countdown, SpaceX\u2019s mission managers decided they needed more time to work through a nagging technical issue with the controls for the second stage\u2019s rocket engine nozzle. \u201cThey did not fully understand what they\u2019re seeing in this second-stage thrust vector control system issue,\u201d NASA spokesman George Diller said.<\/p>\n

SpaceX\u2019s billionaire founder, Elon Musk, addressed the issue in a series of tweets:<\/p>\n

\n

All systems go, except the movement trace of an upper stage engine steering hydraulic piston was slightly odd. Standing down to investigate.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 18, 2017<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

If this is the only issue, flight would be fine, but need to make sure that it isn\u2019t symptomatic of a more significant upstream root cause<\/p>\n

\u2014 Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 18, 2017<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

@elonmusk is this because of this \u201csmall leak\u201d in the upper stage ?<\/p>\n

\u2014 christophe (@Zybbby) February 18, 2017<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

@Zybbby Not obviously related to the (very tiny) helium leak, but also not out of the question<\/p>\n

\u2014 Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 18, 2017<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

Btw, 99% likely to be fine (closed loop TVC wd overcome error), but that 1% chance isn\u2019t worth rolling the dice. Better to wait a day.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 18, 2017<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Liftoff was rescheduled for no earlier than 9:38 a.m. ET (6:38 a.m. PT) Sunday.<\/p>\n

The highlight of this launch is the return of Launch Complex 39A, which served as the springboard for space missions ranging from the Apollo moonshots of the 1960s to the Atlantis flight that brought the space shuttle era to an end in 2011.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt gives me a little bit of chills when I walk out there and see stuff that\u2019s left over from Apollo,\u201d Hans Koenigsmann, SpaceX\u2019s vice president of flight reliability, said during a pre-launch briefing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got to admit, I\u2019m a little bit partial to Pad A,\u201d said Bob Cabana, a former astronaut who is now Kennedy Space Center\u2019s director. \u201cAll four of my flights went off this pad. \u2026 This is absolutely the right thing to do, and SpaceX is a great partner in making this happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

SpaceX and Blue Origin, the space venture founded by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, vied to inherit Pad 39A after the shuttle fleet\u2019s retirement. After months of wrangling, NASA gave a 20-year lease to SpaceX in 2014. Since then, the California-based company has been refurbishing 39A and adapting it for the Falcon 9.<\/p>\n

Kennedy Space Center\u2019s other launch pad, 39B, has been reserved for NASA\u2019s heavy-lift Space Launch System. Meanwhile, Blue Origin struck a deal to lease Spaceport Florida\u2019s commercial Launch Complex 36 at neighboring Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.<\/p>\n

SpaceX also has a pad at Cape Canaveral\u2019s Launch Complex 40, but that facility sustained significant damage last September when a Falcon 9 blew up during launch preparations. The accident added to the pressure to get 39A up and running again.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery launch for me is a significant emotional event,\u201d SpaceX\u2019s president, Gwynne Shotwell, told reporters at the pad on Friday. \u201cThere\u2019s not one launch that I feel comfortable and calm. They\u2019re always nerve-wracking. I can tell you it\u2019s an extra-special launch tomorrow, for sure. Maybe extra nerve-wracking.\u201d<\/p>\n