The Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force station shortly after 6 p.m. local time Tuesday evening after radar issues and weather problems prompted Elon Musk’s SpaceX company to postpone launches on Sunday, then Tuesday this week.
The launch was expected to be SpaceX’s second attempt to test its plan to create reusable rockets, but poor weather conditions put an end to that plan. The initial plan was for the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket to come back down to earth and land safely on a barge near the coast of Florida, but now it will attempt a "soft landing" into the water, where it's unlikely to be recovered.
During the first attempt to do this last year, the rocket failed to land safely upon return. Musk commented that the attempt was “close, but no cigar this time.”
Onboard the rocket is the Deep Space Climate Observatory, or DSCOVR, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-sanctioned satellite that’s expected to soon begin collecting information on solar storms and how they affect communication and power systems on planet Earth.
This is still the most insane picture #Falcon9#SpaceX#DSCOVR inner stage http://ift.tt/1CiGK0x
— Tom Kunsman (@tkunsman) February 11, 2015
If successfully put into orbit, DSCOVR could be "the first line of defense,” David Velazquez, the executive vice president of energy company Pepco Holdings Inc. says in a NOAA video, “... for us to be able to take the appropriate action to protect our system from any impacts that could happen."
First, however, scientists will need to get the satellite in place. It’s expected that DSCOVR won’t begin orbiting until it travels for around 110 days through space to a position, Lagrangian Point 1, which will place it between the Earth and Sun.
"The L1 position will provide DSCOVR with a point of 'early warning' when a surge of particles and magnetic field from the sun will hit Earth," NASA said in a statement.
JUST IN: SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with #DSCOVR payload launches from Cape Canaveral in Florida - @ABCNewsLive http://ift.tt/1KKI9U9
— ABC News (@ABC) February 11, 2015
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