SpaceX puts Monday launch of 64 small satellites on hold
A scheduled launch by SpaceX on Monday out of Vandenberg Air Force Base near Lompoc has been put on hold, with the company on Saturday citing additional pre-flight inspections.
Standing down from Monday’s launch attempt of Spaceflight SSO-A: SmallSat Express to conduct additional pre-flight inspections. Once complete, we will confirm a new launch date.
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 17, 2018
The mission, known as SSO-A or SmallSat Express, of a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 64 small satellites represented one of the most ambitious projects for the Hawthorne-based rocket maker led by Elon Musk as well as Spaceflight Inc., a Seattle-based company that coordinated the payload.
Earlier this week, Peter de Selding, president of Spaceflight, commented on the challenges of a launch that would disperse 49 satellites no larger than the palm of a hand, known as cube satellites, and 15 others called micro-satellites that are less than 220 pounds.
“Complexity touches every part of rideshare missions, including integrating payloads, placing multiple satellites on orbit, and managing regulatory needs,” Selding said. “Now with more than 60 payloads on a single mission, the complexities are amplified.”
While Selding did not rule out future missions of this size, he did say that small to medium size rockets would more likely become the norm.
.@SpaceflightInc President on why launches like coming @SpaceX SSO-A mission won’t be common despite ostensibly lower cost-per-kg to orbit for owners: It’s just too complicated, so smaller rockets will take the business.https://t.co/A7IlKTwttL pic.twitter.com/xuZGH8KErM
— Peter B. de Selding (@pbdes) November 12, 2018
SpaceX recently won approval to launch more than 7,000 additional satellites into orbit, putting the company closer to its goal of blanketing the earth with wireless Internet access.
Among the dozens of satellites on the SSO-A mission that are going to need to wait just a little longer to reach low Earth orbit are projects from 34 different organizations. Some will provide important research and imaging technology while others represent art projects and personal memorials.
Lead payloads are two Earth-observing satellites by Google subsidiary Terra Bella that are about the size of a mini-fridge and will add to a growing constellation of imaging satellites known as SkySat. Another is a satellite by BlackSky that expects to provide top of the line imaging resolution in real-time.
Additional satellites on the mission include a project by artist Trevor Pagler and the Nevada Museum of Art that will unfurl a reflective plastic that should shine in the night sky. Another by artist Tavares Strachan in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art will contain a 24-karat-gold jar shaped into the bust of Robert Lawrence, who was the first African-American astronaut.
The launch if it’s rescheduled before the end of the year would also represent a milestone for SpaceX as it would break a company record of 18 launches in a single calendar year. The 18th launch for SpaceX came on Thursday from Florida. It would also be the first time the company re-uses a first-stage booster that flew twice already, in May and August.