World News – US – SpaceX abandons launch of updated GPS satellite just before takeoff

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Update, October 2, 10 p.m. ET: Just 2 seconds before takeoff, SpaceX halted the launch of its Falcon 9 rocket, without giving a clear indication of what went wrong The next opportunity for SpaceX to fly is Saturday night, although a launch date has yet to be confirmed

Original story: Late Friday night, SpaceX is expected to launch a new and improved GPS satellite for the US Space Force from Cape Canaveral, Florida – the latest spacecraft to help modernize the current GPS fleet It will be the fourth GPS satellite of this type to be launched in the past three years and the third to be launched by SpaceX

The satellite that rides on this flight is the GPS III SV04, which will become one of the 31 main GPS satellites in orbit This vehicle is part of a new block of GPS III spacecraft intended to slowly replace GPS vehicles Aging Today Built by Lockheed Martin, these GPS III satellites are said to be three times more accurate than their predecessors and have more advanced anti-jamming capabilities to prevent cyber attacks, thanks to a new M-Code signal embedded in the satellite

GPS III satellites are also said to be more civilian-friendly Vehicles sport a new « civilian sign » that allows them to communicate more easily with other satellite navigation systems in space, including the European constellation Galileo of more than two dozen spaceships This way, civilians and commercial users looking to operate the system will have more potential overhead for spacecraft at all times.

Launching these GPS III replacements has been a slow process, marked by technology and testing delays, as well as delays related to the COVID-19 pandemic However, Lockheed Martin says the fifth satellite is ready to go and awaiting launch date Meanwhile, five more GPS III satellites are in production, according to the company, and three of them are fully built and under testing Once GPS III SV04 is launched, up to 12% of the current GPS constellation will be new satellites

The GPS III SV04 is scheduled to take off at 9:43 p.m. ET, over SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Base in Fla. SpaceX is using a brand new Falcon 9 rocket for this job, although Last week, the Space Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center announced that it would allow SpaceX to launch two future GPS III satellites on the company’s second-hand Falcon 9 rockets.For this launch, SpaceX still plans to retrieve the Falcon 9 after the flight and will attempt to land the rocket on one of the company’s floating drones in the Atlantic Ocean

For now, the weather looks good for launch with a 70% chance of favorable conditions.However, rockets on the East Coast have struggled to launch this week, with three separate vehicles experiencing delays due to technological and meteorological problems

Tune in tonight to see if SpaceX can break the streak and get a rocket off the ground this week Live coverage is expected to begin 15 minutes before liftoff

SpaceX, United States Space Force, Falcon 9, United Launch Alliance, Space launch, Rocket