CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Feb. 11 (UPI) — The launch of SpaceX’s DSCOVR-carrying Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to take place Wednesday evening, though bad weather is forcing the company to abandon plans to return the rocket to a landing barge in the ocean.
The launch is scheduled to take place at 6:03 p.m. EST from Cape Canaveral, Fla.
The rocket was originally supposed to carry the new Earth-observing satellite of NASA and NOAA into space on Sunday, but the early evening attempt was cancelled due to problems with a “telemetry item” and an “Air Force range” issue with one of their radars.
The launch is notable for its high-tech cargo, the Deep Space Climate Observatory, but it was especially anticipated due to the fact that it would have been SpaceX’s second attempt to recover the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket after its initial separation. The last time the aerospace company attempted the feat the rocket hit the landing platform, floating in the Atlantic. Unfortunately its entry was too fast and at the wrong angle, and the rocket was destroyed upon impact.
Scientists scrubbed plans to attempt the landing again Wednesday due to weather conditions.
“The drone ship was designed to operate in all but the most extreme weather,” SpaceX said in a statement. “We are experiencing just such weather in the Atlantic with waves reaching up to three stories in height crashing over the decks. Also, only three of the drone ship’s four engines are functioning, making station-keeping in the face of such wave action extremely difficult. The rocket will still attempt a soft landing in the water through the storm (producing valuable landing data), but survival is highly unlikely.”
Thor Benson contributed to this report.
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