Oct. 29 (UPI) — SpaceX scrubbed Tuesday’s launch of 20 Starlink Internet satellites into orbit from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California until Wednesday.
SpaceX will now attempt to launch the satellites at 7:07 a.m. EDT with a backup time of 7:21 a.m on Wednesday.
The launch was originally scheduled for 7:44 a.m. on Tuesday but was called off nearly an hour before the flight. SpaceX gave no explanation for the delay.
The Falcon 9 rocket’s payload includes 13 satellites with direct-to-cell capability.
After launch, the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket is expected to return to Earth and land on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean about eight minutes after launch. The upper stage will then deliver the satellites to low Earth orbit.
It will mark the 14th time the first stage of this particular Falcon 9 booster will be used in flight and the 11th time it will be tasked with a Starlink mission.
SpaceX operated more than 6,400 Starlink satellites in lower Earth orbit, providing Internet access to most of the world’s most remote locations. About 250 of the satellites provide direct-to-cell service. SpaceX launched 22 new Starlink satellites into orbit from Florida on Saturday.
