SpaceX's Falcon 9 delayed again...for a good reason
TECH & SCI
By Gong Zhe

2017-01-10 08:00 GMT+8

We have been keeping an eye on Falcon 9's next launch for months. In Sunday's weekly tech digest, we mentioned that a launch of SpaceX's infamous reusable rocket was scheduled for Tuesay.
Unfortunately, the privately-owned space company has postponed the launch for a second time, setting a new expected date of January 14.
SpaceX specified the reason for the most recent delay:
SpaceX's tweet posted on Sunday. /Twitter screenshot‍
Unsatisfactory weather conditions are a common reason to postpone rocket launches. But Falcon 9 has kept its fans waiting for four whole months. Another delay to the much-anticipated relaunch could push impatience to breaking point.
The four months were spent investigating an explosion during the rocket's last launch in September. Falcon 9 was supposed to carry an Israeli satellite into Earth's orbit, and return to our planet's surface — an astonishing action SpaceX has achieved exclusively many times. But a problem with the rocket's "composite overwrapped pressure vessel" (COPV) caused an explosion before takeoff.
A still image of the explosion from a YouTube video. /CFP Photo
A YouTube video of the explosion uploaded by USLaunchReport has been viewed for more than 5.7 million times at the time of publication.

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