SpaceX rocket shuts down after engines ignite Friday at Cape Canaveral

As the SpaceX webcast announcer counted down the final 10 seconds of Friday’s Falcon 9 launch attempt, he said “ignition” when the clock struck zero. And fast-moving fumes and smoke billowed from beneath the 230-foot-tall rocket at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

But the Falcon 9 flight computers — which take control of launch countdowns during the last minute before liftoff — swiftly shut down the engines.

“Abort,” the announcer said three seconds after T-0.

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After the unusual 5:07 p.m. EDT post-ignition scrub, SpaceX announced, “a new target launch date will be shared once available.” No further information was publicly released.

SpaceX’s thrice-delayed Starlink 10-2 mission got postponed Wednesday and scrubbed Thursday amid poor weather generated by Invest 90L before Friday’s dramatic shutdown at Launch Complex 40. Falcon 9 rockets are propelled by nine Merlin engines, which use kerosene and liquid oxygen as fuel.

Upon its eventual launch, the rocket will deploy a batch of 22 Starlink internet-beaming satellites into low-Earth orbit.

Friday’s scrub could impact SpaceX’s Monday launch of the Astra 1P satellite, which will broadcast satellite TV channels across Germany, France and Spain, for Luxembourg-based satellite operator SES. That Falcon 9 mission is also slated for Launch Complex 40. No announcements were made as of Friday night.

Elsewhere on the SpaceX front, the Federal Aviation Administration will collect comments from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday during a virtual meeting about future Starship-Super Heavy launches from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The FAA is the lead agency crafting a Starship environmental impact statement.

Zoom URL: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89402979916
Zoom meeting ID: 894 0297 9916
Optional call-in numbers: 833-928-4608, 833-928-4609 or 833-928-4610.