Instant Alert: SpaceX just announced it will be launching a rocket on Sunday

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SpaceX just announced it will be launching a rocket on Sunday

by Jessica Orwig on Feb 27, 2016, 8:05 PM

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After two postponements, SpaceX announced that it is ready to try another rocket launch on Sunday, Feb. 28 at 6:46 p.m. ET.

Scrubbing a launch is not uncommon in the rocket business, nor is it necessarily a sign that something is wrong with the rocket, or its cargo.

There are a number of factors to consider when launching a rocket including weather, fuel temperatures, and boats that stray too close to the launch pad.

SpaceX was originally scheduled to launch the 11,750-pound SES-9 telecommunications satellite on Wednesday, Feb. 24 out of its launch site at Cape Canaveral in Florida.

However, because of inclement weather, the SpaceX launch team postponed the launch a few hours before the scheduled lift off. SpaceX later added that the launch was also postponed, in part, out of concerns with the rocket's fuel.

"Out of an abundance of caution, the team opted to hold launch for today to ensure liquid oxygen temperatures are as cold as possible in an effort to maximize performance of the vehicle," SpaceX stated on its webcast website.

SpaceX began using a new kind of fuel with its upgraded Falcon 9 rockets last December, which now run on deep cry liquid oxygen (LOX). This fuel has the benefit that you can pack more of it into a rocket — which adds to its power — but the trade-off is that you have to chill it at -340 degrees Fahrenheit.

Thursday was the back-up date, and everything looked good until, seemingly out of nowhere, the team held the launch with just 1 minute and 40 seconds to go.

SpaceX has not announced details for why they called off the launch. All we know is that the team decided to hold as the LOX was being pumped into the rocket.

"Preliminary (information) is that we were … looking at how much time we had left in the count to finish loading the liquid oxygen, and at that time, the launch team decided that we would need to hold the countdown," SpaceX commentator John Insprucker said during a live webcast, as reported by Fortune.

At this point, anyone who's followed SpaceX launches knows that these delays are relatively common. But, in the end, it's far wiser — and cheaper — to be safe than sorry.

Sunday's rocket launch is scheduled to happen at 6:46 p.m. ET followed by another rocket landing attempt.

The landing attempt will take place about 10 minutes after lift off on SpaceX's floating ocean platform called "Of Course I Still Love You." The platform is autonomous and will steer itself about 400 miles off Florida's coast in preparation for the launch.

If SpaceX succeeds, it will be its first successful rocket landing on board the ocean platform. This will be the fourth attempt.

DON'T MISS: The US government is evaluating sanctions against Russia that could destroy SpaceX's biggest competitor

LEARN MORE: Elon Musk's rocket landing could make space travel costs cheaper than a penthouse in NYC


 
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