On Wednesday, the scheduled Florida launch of Falcon 9 rocket which was on a satellite delivery mission was postponed by SpaceX for 24 hours and return landing at sea was attempted so that extra time can be allowed for chilling the propellant of the rocket.
Space X stated that Blast-off of the 23 stories tall booster as well as its payload, SES SA communications satellite was rescheduled for 6.46PM EST on Thursday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
In a Twitter message, the company stated that the spacecraft and rocket are healthy. Some hours before the launch, the weather conditions were described as 60 percent went and indicated that high winds and thick clouds were tracked.
After the delay, a further statement was issued by the company that explained that the team opted for holding the launch for ensuring that temperatures of liquid oxygen are cold as possible so that the vehicle performance can be maximized. The statement gave no clarity as to whether the factor was responsible for the postponement.
The Meteorologists have forecasted an 80 percent chance of suitable weather. Apart from boosting the 12,613-lb (5,721-g) satellite built by Boeing Co, the 1st stage of the rocket would be attempting to turn around and fly itself to a platform that floats in the Atlantic around 400miles east of Cape Canaveral.
Team opting to hold launch for today. Looking to try again tomorrow; window also opens at 6:46pm ET. Rocket and spacecraft remain healthy.
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) February 24, 2016
This mission would be marking the second of more than 12 launches that were planned by Space Exploration Technologies, the private owned and operated by Elon Musk, the high-tech entrepreneur.
This would be the 4th attempt at a sea-based return landing of the main stage of Falcon 9, a milestone in the goal of Musk for developing a reusable and cheap booster.
A returning SpaceX rocket successfully touched down at the ground-based landing site in December, near the launch pad, but three previous attempts for landing the returning rocket failed.
