The private launch firm
SpaceX is once again ready for its spaceflight debut as its first Falcon 1
rocket sits poised to launch later today.
"All
systems have passed their prelaunch checkout and we are go for
launch," said Elon Musk, founder of the El Segundo, California-based SpaceX, Sunday
in a written update.
The rocket,
whose inaugural flight for what SpaceX officials hope will be the first of a
series of launches in upcoming months, is slated to lift off at 2:00 p.m. EST
(1900 GMT) today from a pad at the U.S. Army's Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile
Defense Test Site on Kawajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands chain on the
Pacific Ocean. The planned space shot has an eight-hour window to fly, about
twice that of a scrubbed Nov. 26 launch attempt.
That launch
attempt was aborted
due to a series of problems that included the loss of liquid oxygen fuel due to
vent valve mistakenly left open, as well as a computer reset apparently caused by
a brief power loss.
SpaceX
officials said both problems have since been addressed and the rocket is again ready
to launch its payload: the FalconSat 2 spacecraft built by cadets at the U.S. Air
Force Academy.
The
$800,000 satellite is part of a project by the U.S. Air Force and the Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to offer students practical
experience developing spaceworthy vehicles. FalconSat 2, which is designed to
study how the space plasma environment interacts with navigation and
communication satellites, has been ready to fly since 2003, USAF academy
officials said.
Academy
spokesperson John van Winkle said that, while FalconSat 2 cadets were
disappointed by the Nov. 26 launch scrub, they understood the need.
"We understand
that there are no do-overs in launches of this nature," van Winkle told SPACE.com.
"And we've been waiting since January of 2003, and then were bumped for a ride
on the space shuttle...so what's a few weeks, really."
SpaceX
officials are slightly concerned about the potential impact of high winds for
today's launch.
Falcon 1
rockets are designed to withstand winds speeds of up to 24 knots, and gusts of
about 30 knots were recorded last week, SpaceX spokesperson Dianne Molina told SPACE.com
Friday.
The rocket's
extended launch window should allow launch officials some leeway to wait out
any unfavorable conditions at the Kwajalein Atoll, where it will be 7:00 a.m.
Local Time on Dec. 20 when the launch window opens.
"It's
supposed to look good for Monday," Molina said. "Other than [winds] we're on
target," Molina said.
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