FAA says power outage forced postponement of SpaceX TRACERS launch

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said a regional power outage disrupted telecommunications at the Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control Center, which forced postponing of the SpaceX Falcon 9 TRACERS launch on Tuesday.

The regional power outage in the Santa Barbara area disrupted the center which manages air traffic over the Pacific Ocean. The FAA took this action to ensure the safety of the traveling public.

NASA's TRACERS mission, or the Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites, "will fly in low Earth orbit through the polar cusps, funnel-shaped holes in the magnetic field," said the space agency.

The twin satellites will study magnetic reconnection and its effects in Earth's atmosphere.

"The rocket and payloads remain in good health," said NASA. The liftoff of TRACERS has been postponed to Wednesday.

(With input from Reuters)