SpaceX finally launches rocket on third attempt

SpaceX has finally launched its Intelsat 35e satellite into orbit after the mission was postponed on Monday following two failed attempts.

The Falcon 9 rocket left the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida yesterday, reports ArsTechnica, and successfully delivered the 14,905lb communications satellite "to geostationary transfer orbit".

Company founder Elon Musk tweeted that the satellite had been deployed at a height of 26,700 miles, significantly more than the minimum of 17,400 miles.

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He also said SpaceX had "reviewed all systems" the evening before the launch to "ensure all is good".

These extra checks were conducted following two last-minute failed launch attempts on Sunday and Monday, the first of which was caused by "a guidance and navigation system glitch", reports CBS News.

While the fault was rectified for the next attempt, an "unrelated problem" led to the launch being aborted ten seconds before lift-off.

SpaceX has been pushing towards reusable booster rockets to cut down the servicing costs of space travel. However, TechCrunch says, this latest mission will "not include an attempt to recover the first stage" of the Falcon 9.

The Intelsat 35e satellite "is the heaviest payload SpaceX has ever launched toward geostationary orbit", says ArsTechnica, and "the rocket will not have enough fuel reserves to attempt a safe return to Earth".

It adds that the mission is "the company's third flight in 12 days and fourth in 32 days."

SpaceX relaunch 'no earlier than Wednesday'

4 July

SpaceX founder Elon Musk has announced that the company’s third attempt to send a satellite into space will take place "no earlier than Wednesday" after two failed launches in two days.

SpaceX was due to launch one of its Falcon 9 rockets, carrying the Intelsat 35e satellite, from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida but the countdown was halted ten seconds before lift-off.

The company initially said it would try again on Tuesday, but Musk confirmed it would instead "spend [Tuesday] doing a full review of rocket and pad systems".

Neither SpaceX nor Musk revealed the cause of the second failure, but TechCrunch says it may have been the same "automated computer cut-off" that led to the first aborted launch on Sunday.

While there's no word on what sparked yesterday's computer cut-off, the website says Sunday's shutdown was triggered by "a reading that showed the rocket’s guidance system was off".

The rocket is expected to send the Intelsat 35e, a communications satellite, into orbit "36,000km [22,370 miles] above the Earth's surface", says ArsTechnica. Weighing 14,905lb (6,761kg), the satellite is the "heaviest payload SpaceX has ever launched to geostationary orbit".

However, while SpaceX has been able to recover the booster rockets from its previous missions, the site says this mission "will not have enough fuel reserves to attempt a safe return to Earth". Therefore, this booster "will be expended".

Meanwhile, Engadget says SpaceX successfully landed one of its Dragon capsules on Monday, which makes it "the first commercial spacecraft to re-fly to and from the International Space Station".

It's an "achievement" that bodes well for future space travel, as the site says reusing rockets "promises to dramatically lower the cost of each mission". This helps SpaceX "fly more often" and "accomplish missions without straining tight government budgets".