Just hours ago, at 6:24pm EST, SpaceX launched a Satellite for the United States Space Force. The Falcon 9 launch was a second attempt from a previously postponed launch attempt on October 2.

Watch the video replay of the launch further down in the article.

During that launch attempt, automated systems aborted the launch with just seconds to go in the count. The issue was with 2 of the 9 merlin engines on Falcon 9.

There were some clogged vents in valves in the two engines which. This was from lacquer that was used to protect some sensitive engine parts while they were receiving an anti-corrosion treatment.  

SpaceX has since identified the issue and made corrections to prevent it from occurring in the future.

With 2 replacement engines, tonight’s Falcon 9 blasted off from Pad 40 into the clear night sky on Florida’s Space Coast. With the clear air, the view of the launch was easily visible from 50 miles away in the Orlando area.

Watch a replay of the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch GPS III-SV04 mission:

AS can be seen in the video replay, the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch was spectacular. All systems performed perfectly through all phases, including the landing of stage one on the recovery drone ship.

The SpaceX GPS III-SV04 mission carried an advanced GPS satellite into orbit for the U.S. Space Force. It is the third such satellite launched by SpaceX.

When complete, there will be 10 of these advanced GPS satellites in place high above the Earth. These have been designed to replace the older constellation of satellites in use by the military.

Onboard, these satellites have upgraded hardware and software which allows them to transmit higher-power signals. This makes it less likely that foreign agencies can jam the signals.

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Everything was looking good Friday night leading up to the latest Falcon 9 rocket launch. SpaceX reported all systems go and the weather at the Space Center was good.

The launch countdown proceeded without incident until just 2 seconds before liftoff. At the t-2 second mark, the engine pumps started to spool up in anticipation of ignition. But, as quickly as they spooled up, the computers commanded an abort.

As of yet there has been no official word as to the issue that caused the abort.

Watch the video replay of tonight’s launch attempt from SpaceX below:

If the issue can be resolved, the next launch window for the mission opens on Saturday evening at 9:39pm eastern time.

The same video link above should carry the SpaceX Falcon 9 live stream of the next launch attempt as well.

This launch will carry an advanced GPS satellite into orbit for the newly formed U.S. Space Force. It is dubbed, the GPS III Space Vehicle. The satellite is the fourth of its kind for the Space Force.

Ninety minutes after a successful launch, the satellite will separate from the SpaceX upper stage and move into orbit.     

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The first launch is a Delta IV-Heavy scheduled for 12:14am eastern on Sept 26, 2020. That’s a night launch in the very early hours of Saturday morning – or just after midnight on Friday night, depending on how you look at it.

While that’s technically a launch on Saturday, anyone going out to see the launch in person will certainly be driving out there Friday night.

The United Launch Alliance Delta IV-Heavy rocket will launch from pad 37B at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. This launch had been attempted earlier on August 29. But the flight was halted just 3 seconds prior to lift-off due to a technical issue.

Onboard the Delta 4 is a classified spy satellite for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office.

For anyone who can make it out to see the launch in person, it will be well worth the drive. A night launch of a rocket of this size will be something you will never forget.

The Delta IV-Heavy is the largest of the Delta IV family. It is the closest thing to what a night launch of the Space Shuttle was like.

With its 3 booster rockets mounted together, the launch will light up the midnight sky as if the Sun were rising out of the ground. Even from miles away, the Delta 4 will turn night into day all around you. It’s truly something that has to be experienced.

Second Rocket Launch of the Weekend

The second launch from the Space Center is also a rescheduled event.

On September 17, SpaceX scrubbed its latest launch attempt for a Falcon 9. Bad weather in the recovery zone for the Falcon 9 booster’s landing was to blame.

Instead, the Falcon 9 Starlink 12 rocket launch is now scheduled for 10:43am eastern on Sunday, Sept. 27.

Falcon 9 will blast off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. On this mission, it will put into orbit another 60 of the SpaceX Starlink Satellites.

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Unlike most of the launches in which the Falcon 9 lands on a drone ship in the ocean, yesterday’s landing took place back on solid ground at Florida’s space coast.

The spectacle of launch and landing happen in just the first 8 minutes of the mission. As you can see in the video replay of Falcon 9 launch & landing and deployment of a SAOCOM 1B satellite below.

With so many camera angles, each SpaceX launch is spectacular to watch both in person and online. In this video, at the 8-minute mark, SpaceX’s cameras provide an incredible split-screen view of the rocket booster as it descends and lands at the space center landing pad.

The satellite deployment is much earlier on this flight than usual, occurring just 14 minutes after launch.

Another very unusual aspect of yesterday’s launch is the initial launch and subsequent orbital flight path of the spacecraft.

Typically, rockets launching from the Kennedy Space Center head out east over the Atlantic for a standard west-to-east orbit around the earth, or sometimes departing to the north-east along the east coast of the United States for an orbit that syncs up with the International Space Station (ISS).

But Sunday’s launch of Falcon 9 and SAOCOM 1B headed south-west across the southern part of Florida, then over Cuba, and Central America eventually entering and releasing its payload into a polar orbit.

The SAOCOM 1B is the second of a pair of satellites which will monitor and report on soil moisture content and other data for scientists.

Launch Video Replay of SpaceX Falcon 9 SAOCOM 1B Mission

About an hour into its flight, the spacecraft also deployed two other satellites, GNOMES-1 and Tyvak-0172, as rideshare payloads.   There had been another Falcon 9 launch scheduled for Sunday morning. As of this writing, because of weather delays, that flight has been rescheduled for Thursday 8:26am Eastern time.

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For those who lived in or visited the area around the Kennedy Space Center, referred to as Florida’s Space Coast, during the Space Shuttle era, they will remember that opportunities to see a rocket launch came only a few times a year.

With the entrance of private space launch companies like SpaceX in recent years, that situation has changed dramatically. This week, in fact, will likely see a record for rocket launches from the Space Center.

In the span of just a few days, there will in be 3 rocket launches – beginning on Thursday.

Launch 1

In a matter of hours, the first of these launches will be a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket at 2:04 AM ET on August 29, 2020.

The Delta IV Heavy, the largest of its kind, will lift off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station launch complex 37 – just south of the Kennedy Space Center.

Carried aloft by three large booster rockets, the launch of the Delta IV Heavy should be easy to see from Eastern and Central Florida against the dark night sky.

The rocket will carry a classified spy satellite into orbit for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office.

Launch 2

In what will be a record setting week, the second rocket launch in just three days is scheduled to take place around 10:08 am on Sunday morning, August 30.

Like the Falcon 9 from a couple weeks ago, Saturday’s Falcon 9 will carry another of the company’s 60 Starlink satellites into orbit. This is part of SpaceX’s mission to build a constellation of satellites which will provide affordable broadband internet to even the most remote parts of the planet.

But if you miss either one of these launches, don’t worry – there’s yet another one coming up.

Launch 3

On Sunday, August 30th, SpaceX will be launching two of its Falcon 9 Rockets on the same day! The second of these will be Sunday evening, at 7:19 pm eastern time.

On this mission, Falcon 9 will lift-off carrying a SAOCOM 1B Earth observation satellite for Argentina. This launch for Elon Musk’s company is the third SpaceX Falcon 9 to fly in just the last few weeks.

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This morning’s launch from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral on Florida’s Space Coast went off without a hitch as clear skies and light winds prevailed.

As with every SpaceX launch, the event was streamed live via multiple vantage points thanks to cameras on the ground, the recovery ships at sea, and several mounted on various components of the rocket and stages.

Watch a video replay of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch below:

Today’s launch was the 6^th time that this Falcon 9 booster has carried a payload aloft and then safely landed on the drone recovery ship in the Atlantic Ocean. It’s last flight before today was in June 2020.

This unique ability to reuse both the rockets and the fairings repeatedly is allowing SpaceX to ‘crush the competition’ in terms of the cost of putting payloads into orbit.

Many liken it to the difference we would pay for an airline ticket if the airplane had to be thrown away after each flight.

In the video replay of today’s launch, you can see the launch and separation of the rocket from the second stage carrying the Starlink satellites (about 18 minutes after liftoff). Cameras on the rocket and the drone ship also provide great views of the re-entry and landing of Falcon 9.

Today’s launch put 58 more SpaceX’s Starlink satellites into orbit, and also carried 3 SkySat satellites for a customer.

About 12 minutes after lift-off, a rear facing camera provides a great view of deployment of the 3 SkySats, and then Starlinks about another 34 minutes later.

The next scheduled launch for SpaceX is later this month on the evening August 27 at 7:19pm Eastern.

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Thousands are currently watching the live video stream from SpaceX (shown below) of the astronauts as they get ready for their return. The two made history on May 30, 2020 when they launched from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and the Dragon space capsule. It was the first launch of NASA astronauts (or any person) on a private, commercially built and operated, space rocket.

Officials at SpaceX and NASA expect the astronauts to undock from the ISS at 7:34 p.m. eastern tonight.

After 19 hours in orbit, the two will ride Dragon to a splash down in the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida coast at 2:42 p.m. eastern on Sunday, August 2. The landing site was changed from the original zone in the Atlantic due to the current Hurricane.

The next planned launch of NASA astronauts by SpaceX is planned for late September of this year. On that mission, NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins, Shannon Walker, and JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi will fill all four seats on the Dragon spaceship.

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