Dismal Weather Delays SpaceX Launch of GPS Satellite for US Air Force

Thick clouds from bad weather make for beautiful, if frustrating, scene over SpaceX's launch site at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The weather delayed SpaceX's planned launch of the U.S. Air Force's new GPS 3 SV01 navigation satellite o
Thick clouds from bad weather make for beautiful, if frustrating, scene over SpaceX's launch site at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The weather delayed SpaceX's planned launch of the U.S. Air Force's new GPS 3 SV01 navigation satellite on Dec. 20, 2018. (Image credit: SpaceX)

SpaceX postponed the launch of a new GPS navigation satellite for the U.S. Air Force today (Dec. 20) due to dismal weather over the mission's Florida launch site. 

The private spaceflight company hoped to launch the advanced GPS III SV01 satellite on a Falcon 9 rocket at 9:03 a.m. EST (1403 GMT) after two days of delays due to a sensor issue on the booster. But foul weather, including thunderstorms, rain and potentially even hail, made a launch attempt untenable. It came as no surprise to SpaceX: Weather forecasts put the chances of good launch conditions today at a meager 20 percent. SpaceX is now aiming to launch the GPS III satellite on Saturday (Dec. 22), with liftoff scheduled for 8:55 a.m. EST (1355 GMT).

"Standing down today due to weather," SpaceX representatives wrote in Twitter update. "Vehicle and payload remain in good health." The "Range" SpaceX refers to is the Eastern Range for rocket launches from Cape Canaveral. SpaceX also posted a time-lapse video of the weather over Cape Canaveral showing a stunning, if also frustrating, meteorological scene. [See the Evolution of SpaceX's Rockets in Pictures]

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Today's weather scrub marks the third day of delays for SpaceX's GPS III mission. The Hawthorne, California-based company first attempted to the launch the navigation satellite on Tuesday (Dec. 18), but a sensor issue forced SpaceX to stand down for two days as to analyze the issue. By late Wednesday, SpaceX was ready for another try, but the weather turned sour.

Vice President Mike Pence attended SpaceX's Tuesday launch attempt, and used the occasion to unveil the Trump administration's plan to form a new U.S. Space Command  to oversee all military operations in space. Delays are fine, Pence said, so long as the GPS III satellite makes it to space safely.

"The most important thing is that we get that rocket up safely and securely, and achieves its mission," Pence said in a speech at NASA's Kennedy Space Center near the launch site after the scrub. "I know this bird is going to fly, and when it does it's going to make a difference for the security and prosperity of the American people."

Built by Lockheed Martin, the GPS III SV01 is the first of a new constellation of ultraprecise navigation satellites for the U.S. Air Force. The satellite is nicknamed Vespucci after Amerigo Vespucci, the namesake of the Americas. 

Editor's note: This story was updated at 11:29 a.m. EST to include the new launch target for SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket. 

Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com or follow him @tariqjmalik. Follow us @Spacedotcom and FacebookOriginally published on Space.com

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Tariq Malik
Editor-in-Chief

Tariq is the Editor-in-Chief of Space.com and joined the team in 2001, first as an intern and staff writer, and later as an editor. He covers human spaceflight, exploration and space science, as well as skywatching and entertainment. He became Space.com's Managing Editor in 2009 and Editor-in-Chief in 2019. Before joining Space.com, Tariq was a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times covering education and city beats in La Habra, Fullerton and Huntington Beach. In October 2022, Tariq received the Harry Kolcum Award for excellence in space reporting from the National Space Club Florida Committee. He is also an Eagle Scout (yes, he has the Space Exploration merit badge) and went to Space Camp four times as a kid and a fifth time as an adult. He has journalism degrees from the University of Southern California and New York University. You can find Tariq at Space.com and as the co-host to the This Week In Space podcast with space historian Rod Pyle on the TWiT network. To see his latest project, you can follow Tariq on Twitter @tariqjmalik.