SpaceX Falcon 9 launch pushed back to Monday

FAA issues SpaceX license for return-to-flight mission

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – A planned return to flight for SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, which was originally planned for Sunday, has been rescheduled for Monday.

The company planned to launch its first Falcon 9 rocket since an explosion on a Cape Canaveral launch pad last September.

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A failed pressure vessel in a liquid oxygen tank was blamed for the explosion.

On Thursday, SpaceX successfully completed the same kind of pre-launch test that was in progress when the September explosion occurred.  The rocket was fueled and briefly fired its nine main engines without any reported issues, officials said.

CEO Elon Musk tweeted that all systems were go for the scheduled Sunday launch, but the Federal Aviation Administration had not yet issued a license for the launch.

The FAA confirmed on Friday that it it had accepted the findings of SpaceX's investigation into Sept. 1 explosion at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. It then issued SpaceX a license for the return-to-flight mission.

The launch attempt is now scheduled to take place at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California around 1:22 p.m. Monday, but the weather forecast is "iffy, with rain expected," officials said.

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