On April 28, 2023, SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket was scheduled to launch three satellites but had to abort its launch at the last minute. The rocket was in its startup phase, but its 27 first-stage engines did not ignite, and the cause of the abort remains unclear. The primary payload was ViaSat-3 Americas, designed to provide broadband services for Viasat. The other two satellites on board were Arcturus and GS-1.
SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy is a powerful and reusable rocket designed to land its first stages. Although the company does not plan to reuse the core boosters from this mission, the next launch attempt is scheduled for Sunday, April 30, 2023. The 45th Weather Squadron has given an 80% chance of good launch weather for Sunday night’s launch.
On the previous night, the tower of Launch Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, where the rocket was sitting, was struck by lightning due to the storms. However, according to a SpaceX official, the rocket and its payload are healthy despite the incident.
SpaceX announced on Twitter that the launch was aborted due to severe weather conditions and rescheduled for Sunday, April 30. The team is now working towards this date for the launch of ViaSat-3 Americas.
Space enthusiasts are eagerly awaiting the launch of Falcon Heavy to witness yet another successful launch by SpaceX. The company has been making tremendous progress in space exploration, and the Falcon Heavy rocket has proven to be a reliable and efficient launch vehicle. However, the weather conditions need to be favorable on Sunday for the launch to proceed successfully.
