Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/spacex-rocket-set-to-launch-at-539-pm-est Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter SpaceX succeeds at third attempt to launch Falcon 9 rocket Nation Dec 3, 2013 6:15 PM EDT Liftoff! #SES8 #Falcon9 pic.twitter.com/VBqPxcy64c — Jason Major (@JPMajor) December 3, 2013 Updated 6:15 p.m. EST | SpaceX succeeded in launching a commercial communications satellite, its third scheduled attempt, on Tuesday. Liftoff occurred at 5:41 p.m. EST. The SES-8 satellite deployed after liftoff. Spacecraft separation confirmed! SES-8 is now in its targeted GEO transfer orbit. — SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 3, 2013 Video by Space.com Updated 6:53 p.m. EST | Engineers scrubbed a second attempt to launch the Falcon 9 rocket, determining they needed more time to review the data. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said another attempt will be made in a few days. If launch aborts, we will bring the rocket down for engine inspection, so probably a few days before next attempt — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 28, 2013 Updated 6:28 p.m. EST | The countdown has started again with 17 minutes to liftoff. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says the abort was triggered by a slower than expected ramp-up of thrust. http://t.co/FfC79YU3nx — Spaceflight Now (@SpaceflightNow) November 28, 2013 Updated 6:00 p.m. EST | The Falcon 9 rocket aborted liftoff with about a second to go. SpaceX said the rocket is safe and that its flight computer shut down the launch. As engineers reassess the situation, SpaceX said there’s still a 65-minute launch window to try again. Otherwise, another attempt will be made tomorrow at the same time of day. After delaying its launch this week because of a technical error, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is now scheduled to launch at 5:39 p.m. EST from Cape Canaveral, Fla. on Thursday. SpaceX is attempting, for the first time, to send a commercial communications satellite into orbit. If the spacecraft’s journey is successful, it would establish the commercial spaceflight company as a “lower-cost player able to recapture commercial launches all but lost to overseas competitors,” USA Today reports. “Let me put this very clearly and maybe not too dramatically: The entry of SpaceX into the commercial market is a game-changer,” Martin Halliwell, chief technology officer for SES told USA Today. “It’s going to really shake the industry to its roots.” Will be toughest mission to date. Requires coast + upper stage restart + going to 80,000 km altitude (~1/4 way to moon). — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 23, 2013 In October 2012, the Falcon 9 rocket was the first commercial rocket to send an unmanned space capsule to the International Space Station. Then, PBS NewsHour Science Correspondent Miles O’Brien spoke with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk about the company’s goal to someday “send millions of people to Mars.” A free press is a cornerstone of a healthy democracy. Support trusted journalism and civil dialogue. Donate now
Liftoff! #SES8 #Falcon9 pic.twitter.com/VBqPxcy64c — Jason Major (@JPMajor) December 3, 2013 Updated 6:15 p.m. EST | SpaceX succeeded in launching a commercial communications satellite, its third scheduled attempt, on Tuesday. Liftoff occurred at 5:41 p.m. EST. The SES-8 satellite deployed after liftoff. Spacecraft separation confirmed! SES-8 is now in its targeted GEO transfer orbit. — SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 3, 2013 Video by Space.com Updated 6:53 p.m. EST | Engineers scrubbed a second attempt to launch the Falcon 9 rocket, determining they needed more time to review the data. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said another attempt will be made in a few days. If launch aborts, we will bring the rocket down for engine inspection, so probably a few days before next attempt — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 28, 2013 Updated 6:28 p.m. EST | The countdown has started again with 17 minutes to liftoff. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says the abort was triggered by a slower than expected ramp-up of thrust. http://t.co/FfC79YU3nx — Spaceflight Now (@SpaceflightNow) November 28, 2013 Updated 6:00 p.m. EST | The Falcon 9 rocket aborted liftoff with about a second to go. SpaceX said the rocket is safe and that its flight computer shut down the launch. As engineers reassess the situation, SpaceX said there’s still a 65-minute launch window to try again. Otherwise, another attempt will be made tomorrow at the same time of day. After delaying its launch this week because of a technical error, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is now scheduled to launch at 5:39 p.m. EST from Cape Canaveral, Fla. on Thursday. SpaceX is attempting, for the first time, to send a commercial communications satellite into orbit. If the spacecraft’s journey is successful, it would establish the commercial spaceflight company as a “lower-cost player able to recapture commercial launches all but lost to overseas competitors,” USA Today reports. “Let me put this very clearly and maybe not too dramatically: The entry of SpaceX into the commercial market is a game-changer,” Martin Halliwell, chief technology officer for SES told USA Today. “It’s going to really shake the industry to its roots.” Will be toughest mission to date. Requires coast + upper stage restart + going to 80,000 km altitude (~1/4 way to moon). — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 23, 2013 In October 2012, the Falcon 9 rocket was the first commercial rocket to send an unmanned space capsule to the International Space Station. Then, PBS NewsHour Science Correspondent Miles O’Brien spoke with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk about the company’s goal to someday “send millions of people to Mars.” A free press is a cornerstone of a healthy democracy. Support trusted journalism and civil dialogue. Donate now