SpaceX scrubs static fire test of Falcon 9 due to issue
SpaceX said in a statement that it was now targeting a window on Tuesday for the test after saying the scrub was due to an issue with the transporter erector cradle arm position indication at Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
"Today's test auto-aborted at T-57 seconds due to an error with the transporter erector's cradle arm position indication. The arm functioned properly and teams are reviewing data. Falcon 9 and Dragon remain healthy on the pad ahead of this week's NASA Crew-11 launch to the [ISS]," SpaceX said.
After the planned burn was set to begin,it was seen returning to pre-static fire.
The static fire operation is when clamps are holding the rocket in place to release ahead of engine ignition as it plans on launch day.
Booster serial number B1094 is being used on Crew-11's Mission on the Falcon 9. The rocket will be flying for its third time, following the events of Axiom Mission 4.
Crew-11 will dock with the International Space Station, but the length of the mission is unknown until about a month after docking.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Forbes
21 minutes ago
- Forbes
NASA Is Already Prepping To Build Trump A Nuclear Reactor On The Moon
T his week NASA administrator Sean Duffy declared the Trump Administration's intention to land a working nuclear fission reactor on the moon by the end of the decade. 'We're in a race to the moon, in a race with China to the moon,' Duffy said. Planting reactors is more effective than planting a flag in the lunar dust. Duffy referenced the idea of a 'keep-out zone' around a reactor that effectively lays claim to a desirable area, like a craters holding frozen water. Does Duffy's 5-year timetable seem too aggressive? Not particularly, when you consider that NASA and its many contractors have been relying on atomic power for a long time. Since the 1960s, NASA has powered Apollo missions, space probes and Martian landers using radioisotopic batteries that turn the heat emitted by Plutonium-238 and other decaying isotopes into electricity. The Apollo devices are still on the moon with those on Voyager and Pioneer probes were the first manmade objects to leave the solar system. But those devices only put out 100 watts or less. The nuclear fission reactors like what Duffy is talking about are far more complicated. They generate heat by splitting apart Uranium-d238, and would put out 100 kilowatts enough to power a couple dozen homes on Earth. Do we need nuclear on the moon? A decade ago, NASA decided the answer was yes. Nighttime lasts for 14 Earth days in many lunar locations, making solar panels unreliable. And you can't burn oil, coal or gas in a vacuum even if you could get it into orbit. Nasa first validated microreactor tech via the Kilopower project, then in 2022 gave $5 million grants to three consortia to perfect 40 kilowatt designs. The specifications of the Fission Surface Power Project called for a system that weighs just 6 tons, can fit into a cylinder 13 feet in diameter and 20 feet long, and can work for 10 years, self-regulated, with no maintenance or refuelling required. It's a tough remit, says Sebatian Corbisiero, the national technical director for space reactors at the Idaho National Lab, whose team selected the companies for the year-long Nasa study. 'On Earth reactors are not designed to be low mass and small. In space you need as little mass as possible, to fit on a rocket,' he says. Corbisiero does believe a lunar reactor is an important and necessary first step to developing systems that could sustain a Martian colony. As his research group found in 2023, 'Surface nuclear power is required for a sustainable lunar presence.' The three consortia Corbisiero's group selected for the 2022 contract are Lockheed Martin, with BWXT, a team that had already been working for NASA on DRACO, a $500 million demonstration spacecraft powered by a nuclear reactor. Then there's veteran reactor builder Westinghouse, partnered with Aerojet Rocketdyne, which plans to adapt its existing eVinci microreactor. The third is startup X-Energy, teamed with Maxar and Boeing. X-Energy is working on microreactor projects for Dow Chemical and Amazon, but aims to use its own nonstandardized fuel source rather than the standardized HALEU fuel (high assay low enriched uranium) that Nasa directives call for. Corbisiero is diplomatic and won't speculate on which company approach he prefers. The final system is likely to use a Stirling engine to convert fission heat into electricity and feature meltdown-proof liquid sodium circulation. Can we get one on the moon in five years? 'Yes, in my opinion it is doable,' he says. It will depend however on continued development of the rest of the Artemis flight system (the first crewed mission Artemis II is scheduled for early 2026) and whether NASA can get the money. On Earth, microreactors cost billions. According to Duffy, the Trump Administration thinks America can't afford not to plant reactors on the moon as soon as possible. China is planning its Chang'e-8 mission in 2029 to test out methods for building a lunar base with robots and 3-d printers by the mid-2030s. Duffy says both China and the U.S. want to monopolize the best lunar real estate, near the poles, where the sun always shines; 'We have ice there, we have sunlight there. We want to get there first and claim that for America.' More from Forbes Forbes How This Billionaire Family Is Succeeding Despite The Collapse Of The American Shipping Industry By Christopher Helman Forbes Why Ramaco Says It Can Beat Its Government-Backed Rival For Rare Earth Supremacy By Christopher Helman Forbes How An Unassuming Geologist Cracked The Global Fertilizer Cartel By Christopher Helman Forbes Meet The Tiny Startup Building Stargate, OpenAI's $500 Billion Data Center Moonshot By Christopher Helman
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
What to know: SpaceX to launch another Amazon Kuiper mission from Cape Canaveral in Florida
Amazon's Kuiper internet constellation will continue to grow thanks to yet another launch -- again on a SpaceX rocket. The mission is known as KF-02 (Kuiper Falcon 2) and is set to liftoff no earlier than 10:01 a.m. Thursday, August 7, from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. SpaceX has a 27-minute window to make the launch. As the name suggests, it is the second launch of the satellites atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. SpaceX recently launched a batch of the satellites back on July 16. Amazon Kuiper SpaceX launch from Cape Canaveral Comparable to SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet, the Amazon Kuiper satellite internet service promises to provide internet in "unserved and underserved communities." Overall, this will be the fourth launch of the satellite constellation to date. Kuiper saw its first batch launched April 28 of this year atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The SpaceX's Falcon 9 will deploy the satellites 289 miles above Earth, and then Amazon's Project Kuiper team will take over from an operations center in Redmond, Washington. From there, the Amazon team will raise the satellites to an altitude of approximately 391 miles. Amazon was founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, who also founded space company, Blue Origin. SpaceX and the Starlink satellites are products of billionaire Elon Musk. Eventually, the Amazon Kuiper satellites will eventually be launched atop Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket as well. Amazon plans to have 3,232 of the first-generation satellites in orbit within the coming years. In contrast, SpaceX has about 8,000 Starlink satellites in orbit. The Project Kuiper satellites are processed for launch at the new $140 million, 100,000-square-foot processing plant at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. When is the next Florida launch? Is there a launch today? Upcoming NASA, SpaceX, ULA rocket launch schedule at Cape Canaveral SpaceX Falcon 9 launch in Florida to see new booster The Falcon 9 first-stage, also known as the booster, launching this mission is seeing its first flight. This is a rare occasion, as SpaceX routinely pushes its fleet of boosters to well beyond 20 flights. Reusability keeps the costs down. There will be no Space Coast sonic booms, as the new booster will land out on the A Shortfall of Gravitas drone ship, which will be waiting in the Atlantic Ocean. A few days following the launch, the new booster will arrive back at Port Canaveral for retrival by SpaceX. Brooke Edwards is a Space Reporter for Florida Today. Contact her at bedwards@ or on X: @brookeofstars. This article originally appeared on Florida Today: What to know: SpaceX launch of Amazon Kuiper mission in Cape Canaveral Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
SpaceX launch this morning: Everything to know about Amazon launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida
Look for a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to launch this morning carrying another batch of Amazon's Project Kuiper broadband satellites into low-Earth orbit. SpaceX is targeting a 27-minute window extending from 10:01 a.m. to 10:28 a.m. to send up the Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The rocket will deploy the 24 Kuiper satellites 289 miles above the Earth's surface. No Brevard County sonic booms should occur. After soaring skyward along a northeasterly trajectory, the rocket's first-stage booster will target landing aboard the SpaceX drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas out at sea. Check back for live FLORIDA TODAY Space Team launch coverage updates on this page, starting about two hours before the launch window opens. When SpaceX's live webcast begins about 15 minutes before liftoff, we'll post it below next to our countdown clock. Countdown Timer For the latest news and launch schedule from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit Another easy way: Click here to sign up for our weekly Space newsletter. Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at Rneale@ Twitter/X: @RickNeale1 Space is important to us and that's why we're working to bring you top coverage of the industry and Florida launches. Journalism like this takes time and resources. Please support it with a subscription here. This article originally appeared on Florida Today: SpaceX rocket launch today: What to know before liftoff from Florida Solve the daily Crossword