SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket launch called off due to weather
The Falcon Heavy features 5.1 million pounds of thrust at liftoff, making it the second most powerful rocket in current use, after NASA's Space Launch System moon rocket, which boasts 8.8 million pounds of thrust.
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Lying horizontal on the pad, the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket is being prepared to launch the ViaSat-3 F3 Satellite from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida on Sunday. ViaSat-3 will be the third latest generation VisSat satellite to be lifted to a geosynchronous orbit. (Photo Credit: Joe Marino/UPI | License Photo)
April 27 (UPI) -- SpaceX's first Falcon Heavy rocket in 18 months was called off due to unfavorable weather Monday at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The rocket, which was meant to carry a ViaSat-3 F3 communications satellite into orbit, was scheduled to launch during an 85-minute window beginning at 10:21 a.m. EDT.
SpaceX announced on social media that the launch would be rescheduled.
"Standing down from today's Falcon Heavy launch of the @viasat-3 F3 mission due to unfavorable weather," the company said on X. "Vehicle and payload remain healthy. A new target date will be shared once confirmed."
The 45th Weather Squadron earlier said that Monday's launch window had about a 70% chance of favorable weather conditions.
The Falcon Heavy, which last launched in October 2024, uses three modified versions of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket's first stage, with an upper stage contained in the central booster. The Falcon Heavy features 5.1 million pounds of thrust at liftoff, making it the second most powerful rocket in current use, after NASA's Space Launch System moon rocket, which boasts 8.8 million pounds of thrust.
The 6.6-ton ViaSat-3 F3 satellite will head to geostationary orbit 22,236 miles over the surface of the Earth. It will provide broadband coverage to ViaSat's commercial, defense and consumer customers in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Falcon Heavy rocket made its first flight in 2018, and has since launched for 10 missions, including carrying previous ViaSat-3 satellites into orbit.
Dave Abrahamian, ViaSat's vice president of satellite systems, said the newest satellite is expected to be ready for use faster than the most recent ViaSat-3 satellite, which was carried into orbit by United Launch Alliance's Atlas 5 rocket.
"Falcon Heavy is a more powerful vehicle than Atlas 5 was, so they can put us in a more favorable transfer orbit for the electric propulsion," Abrahamian told Spaceflight Now.
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