KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. – Following a last-second abort this weekend, SpaceX on Wednesday launched 60 internet-beaming satellites from the Space Coast.
The mission is part of SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s plan to beam the internet to people around the globe later this year by using a constellation of hundreds of satellites.
The mission marked the fifth flight for the Falcon 9 booster used in the launch, but SpaceX said it was unable to successfully to land the rocket booster.
Liftoff! pic.twitter.com/eToRAbYW1q
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 18, 2020
With one of the most popular rocket launch viewing areas closed in response to #coronavirus, there are noticeably more people this morning on the beaches south of @jettypark. #SpaceX targeting 8:16 liftoff of Falcon 9 @SpaceX @elonmusk #Starlink @news6wkmg pic.twitter.com/xr9X3Gh4lX
— James Sparvero (@News6James) March 18, 2020
The launch had been scheduled for Sunday but was aborted in the very last second of the countdown after an engine-power sensor.
After the last-second abort, Michael Andrews, a supply chain supervisor at SpaceX who was commentating the launch, offered some insight into the precautions before flight.
“There are a thousand ways a launch can go wrong and only one way a launch can go right," Andrews said. "Given that we are overly caution on the ground and if the team, or the vehicle, sees anything just slightly off we’ll stop the countdown.”