SpaceX To Repeat Attempt At Launching Falcon 9 Carrying Satellite Monday

The SpaceX aerospace manufacturer will repeat an attempt to launch its Falcon 9 rocket carrying a satellite from Cape Canaveral, Florida on Monday, the company said in a statement on its website.

The Falcon 9 rocket is expected to carry the SES-9 telecommunications satellite into orbit. The satellite is to provide broadcasting and other services in Asia, Indonesia and the Indian Ocean.

The launch is expected to happen in an approximately 1,5-hour launch window between 2.46 a.m. [07:00 GMT] and 4.23 a.m. local time [09:23 GMT], according to SpaceX. The satellite will be deployed approximately 31 minutes after liftoff.

On Thursday, SpaceX cancelled a Falcon 9 launch because of a technical difficulty for the second time in a row this week after on Wednesday, the launch was postponed amid bad weather conditions.

SpaceX is planning to attempt a Falcon 9 drone ship landing after the launch.

In December 2015, SpaceX succeeded in making its Falcon 9 first-stage rocket land upright about 6 miles from where it was launched at Cape Canaveral, Florida, after having propelled 11 satellites into Earth’s orbit. It was the first time an orbital rocket successfully completed a controlled landing on Earth.

In January 2015, SpaceX tried to land a Falcon 9 rocket on a drone ship, but the rocket toppled over and exploded. (PNA/Sputnik) BNB/RSM