SpaceX performed a static fire test on one of its Falcon 9 rockets on Thursday. While the company initially announced the next Starlink satellite launch would take place on the 18th, it has now postponed the launch.
In a post to Twitter the company said it had completed the static fire successfully and that it was still targeting to launch 52 new Starlink satellites to orbit on Friday.
Static fire test of Falcon 9 complete – targeting Friday, November 18 for launch of 52 Starlink satellites to orbit from SLC-4E in California → https://t.co/WsgwiYHuZg
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 17, 2022
However, later in the day the company posted an update saying it was standing down from the launch to examine the data from the static fire test, without explaining what caused them to want to take a closer look.
Standing down from tomorrow's launch of Starlink to take a closer look at data from static fire; will announce a new target launch date once confirmed
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 18, 2022
The rocket scheduled for the launch would have been powered by booster B1061. The booster has completed ten launches.
It would become the 4th or 5th booster to fire 11 times when it launches the Starlink 2-4 mission. That mission is now indefinitely suspended as SpaceX carries out its findings.
The company says it will announce a new launch date when confirmed.
SpaceX does postpone launches. However, this one was different because it could not fix a new date immediately.
The last time it delayed a launch after a static fire test was in 2019.
The Falcon 9 has been busy this year, completing its 50th launch early this month. The 40th launch occurred in September.
