A glitch in the delivery system pushed the launch date back a bit

Nov 27, 2013 15:16 GMT  ·  By
Image of a Falcon 9 rocket launching into space with an unmanned Dragon space capsule
   Image of a Falcon 9 rocket launching into space with an unmanned Dragon space capsule

Officials from the Hawthorne, California-based Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) say that the upcoming launch of the Falcon 9 delivery system carrying its first commercial communications satellite payload has been delayed by 24 hours. 

The rocket was originally supposed to take off at 0027 GMT on November 27, but a sudden error that occurred in the liquid oxygen system on the first stage of the rocket forced SpaceX engineers to call for a reschedule. The mission will attempt for a take-off at 0038 GMT on November 28.

Satellite operator SES World Skies is the first commercial customer for the Falcon 9 rocket, which was developed to boost the Dragon unmanned space capsule to the International Space Station during the resupply missions SpaceX conducts for NASA. The massive SES-8 satellite is its first private payload.

Even if the issue plaguing Falcon 9 is fixed before Thursday (EST), the company will avoid launching the mission early. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) would have to shut down air traffic in the busy Florida corridor over Thanksgiving, which would not do at all, Space reports.