Thursday, May 31, 2018

SpaceX Delays SES-12 Launch, Shows Off Fairing Capture

Hawthorne-based rocket and spacecraft developer SpaceX delayed the SES-12 satellite launch, which had been scheduled for Friday, saying on Thursday that it needed to run additional tests on the Falcon 9's second stage. According to SpaceX, it is now looking at a June 4th launch of the satellite mission from Florida's Cape Canaveral. In separate news, SpaceX showed off photos of the landing of the fairings for the Iridium-6/GRACE-FO launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base last week, saying it managed to land one of those fairing only about 60 meters from its recovery ship, Mr. Steven. Those fairings--used to protect the satellite payloads on SpaceX's Falcon 9--are are SpaceX's list of components to make re-usable for future launches.