HAWTHORNE — An attempted launch of dozens of satellites by Hawthorne-based SpaceX was scrubbed at the last minute on Tuesday, June 29, when an aircraft entered a restricted zone around Cape Canaveral in Florida, prompting frustration from company founder Elon Musk.
Musk lamented on Twitter, saying an aircraft had entered the designated “keep out zone,” which he said “is unreasonably gigantic.”
“There is simply no way that humanity can become a spacefaring civilization without major regulatory reform,” Musk wrote. “The current regulatory system is broken.”
The launch of the Falcon 9 rocket had been scheduled for just before noon Tuesday California time. With the last-minute scrub, SpaceX will try again Wednesday at the same time.
The mission is dubbed Transporter-2, the company’s second “SmallSat Rideshare Program” launch — essentially a single rocket carrying 85 commercial and government spacecraft, as well as three SpaceX Starlink internet satellites.
After the launch, SpaceX will again attempt to recover the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket for use in future missions. The company often pilots the rockets to a barge floating in the Atlantic Ocean, but for this launch, the rocket is expected to touch down at a landing zone back at Cape Canaveral.
The first stage of the rocket being used in Wednesday’s launch has flown seven previous missions. Both halves of the rocket’s fairing, or protective nosecone, have flown in two previous missions each.
Reusing equipment is considered a major cost-cutting advancement, slashing the cost of satellite and spacecraft launches.
