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SpaceX Launch Scrubbed As Cruise Ship Enters Hazard Area With 30 Seconds To Liftoff

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Dr. Alfredo Carpineti

author

Dr. Alfredo Carpineti

Senior Staff Writer & Space Correspondent

Alfredo (he/him) has a PhD in Astrophysics on galaxy evolution and a Master's in Quantum Fields and Fundamental Forces.

Senior Staff Writer & Space Correspondent

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The Falcon9 rocket ready to launch. Image Credit: SpaceX

The Falcon9 rocket is ready to launch. Image Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX has been trying to launch an Italian surveillance satellite for the past several days but the poor weather conditions had delayed it. Now, it's been delayed again by a surprise guest too close on launch day. On January 30, when the Falcon 9 rocket had just 33 seconds to launch, it had to be stopped. A cruise ship had entered the hazard zone.

In the live stream of the launch, you can clearly hear the “hold, hold, hold” from a member of the mission control team. “We have a red range for a fouled range with a ship in the hazard area.” The launch had to be scrapped.

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Ships are warned in advance of launches from Cape Canaveral in Florida, so they can avoid the hazard zone, so it's not clear how the ship — believed to be Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas according to local sources — got in there. The local Coast guard is reported to be investigating the incident.

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The launch has been postponed to January 31 at 6:11 pm EST with hopefully no further delays.

The satellite that is expected to launch is part of a four-satellite constellation that can provide surveillance over the Mediterranean with imagery to be used in defense, seismic hazard analysis, environmental disaster monitoring, and agricultural mapping.


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