SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket aborts double-satellite launch at last minute

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The SpaceX rocket aborted its launch 30 seconds before liftoff. The Falcon 9 is now set to launch on Oct. 7.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on the launch pad at sunset
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Intelsat's Galaxy 33 and Galaxy 34 satellites on its launch pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida after an automatic abort on Oct. 6, 2022. (Image credit: SpaceX)

A veteran SpaceX rocket poised to make its 14th flight aborted a launch attempt on Thursday (Oct. 6) with less than one minute before liftoff.

The Falcon 9 rocket was slated to launch two communications payloads for Intelsat, the Galaxy 33 and Galaxy 34 satellites, when it initiated an automatic abort just 30 seconds before a planned liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 7:20 p.m. EDT (2320 GMT). SpaceX said it will make a second attempt to launch the mission on Friday (Oct. 7) at 7:06 p.m. EDT (2306 GMT).  You can watch the SpaceX launch live online, courtesy of SpaceX, starting about 15 minutes before liftoff.

Related: 8 ways that SpaceX has transformed spaceflight

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said the automatic abort was triggered by a slight helium leak on the rocket. 

"Tiny helium leak (just barely triggered abort), but we take no risks with customer satellites," Musk wrote on Twitter after the abort. "Standing down to investigate."

"Rocket and payload are in good health—teams are working toward tomorrow's 69-minute launch window opening at 7:06 p.m. ET," the company wrote on Twitter. 

The upcoming SpaceX mission will mark the company's third launch in three days. SpaceX launched four astronauts to the International Space Station from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday (Oct. 5) and followed that up hours later with the launch of 52 satellites from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base on the same day. 

The Crew-5 astronaut launch, which included the first Russian cosmonaut to fly on a Dragon capsule, arrived at the station Thursday afternoon. 

Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com or follow him @tariqjmalik. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Instagram.

Tariq Malik
Tariq Malik
Editor-in-Chief

Tariq is the award-winning Editor-in-Chief of Space.com and joined the team in 2001. He covers human spaceflight, as well as skywatching and entertainment. He became Space.com's 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. He's a recipient of the 2022 Harry Kolcum Award for excellence in space reporting and the 2025 Space Pioneer Award from the National Space Society. He is an Eagle Scout and Space Camp alum with journalism degrees from the USC and NYU. You can find Tariq at Space.com and as the co-host to the This Week In Space podcast on the TWiT network. To see his latest project, you can follow Tariq on Twitter @tariqjmalik.