This story was updated at 9:58 a.m.
EST.
After three
failed attempts, the private launch firm Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) is once more set to debut its Falcon 1 rocket in a Friday
space shot.
SpaceX
officials delayed the launch 24 hours to allow additional time to system checks
and reviews.
"We are
feeling more and more confident with each countdown attempt," said Elon Musk, founder of the El Segundo, California-based SpaceX, via e-mail from the firm's launch site. "It is also
worth noting that four countdown attempts is actually a small number for a
brand new rocket from a brand new launch site.
The
two-stage Falcon 1 rocket is slated to launch spaceward at 4:00 p.m. EST (2100 GMT)
from its equatorial
staging ground on the Kwajalein Atoll in the
Pacific Ocean's Marshall Islands. The launch window closes at 10:00 p.m. EST
(0300 March 24 GMT), SpaceX officials said.
A series of
engine tests over the last week have raised no serious issues, though SpaceX engineers are trying to cover all their bases.
"Some
people out here think that everything should work the first time, which is not
realistic," Musk said.
SpaceX's
first Falcon 1 rocket is slated to orbit the $800,000 FalconSat-2
spacecraft, a cube-shaped probe built by U.S. Air Force Academy cadets to
study the effects of space plasma on communications and global positioning
satellites. The small spacecraft weighs about 43-pounds (19.5-kilograms) and
measures 12.5 inches (32 centimeters) per side. The U.S. Air Force and Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) are supporting the $6.7 million
launch.
FalconSat-2's
mission has suffered three false starts due to technical issues. A computer
glitch and liquid oxygen leak forced SpaceX launch
controllers to abort
an attempted space shot on Nov. 26, while a structural issue prompted a Dec.
19 scrub. Unsatisfactory vehicle tests led to the third
scrub.
But each of
those attempts also yielded valuable experience for SpaceX
launch crews and flight controllers, Musk said.
"Even if
the launch is not completely successful, we will be able to gather a lot of
good data," he added.
Falcon 1 is
the first of a planned family of rockets which SpaceX
hopes will ferry ever-larger payloads into orbit. The firm is also developing a
heavy-lift Falcon 9 rocket and its Dragon
reusable crew and cargo capsule for servicing flights to the International
Space Station (ISS).
The first
stage of Falcon 1 is designed to parachute to an ocean landing where it can be
retrieved by recovery crews for later refurbishment and a future launch. The
liquid oxygen and kerosene-powered rocket stands about 68 feet (21 meters) tall
and is capable of delivering about 77,000 pounds of
thrust, SpaceX officials said.
In addition
to its Kwajalein Atoll launch site, the rocket is
also designed to launch from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base, where Musk
expects Falcon 1's second mission to begin.
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