ROCKET PROBLEMS

SpaceX Delays Launch From Historic Moon Pad

A minor setback for the company after last summer’s rocket explosion.

SpaceX was forced to delay a launch from NASA’s historic moon pad on Saturday, with last-minute problems causing the company to halt the launch with a mere 13 seconds to spare. Thousands of people had gathered at the Kennedy Center’s Launch Complex 39A – the same pad that first sent Americans to the moon – in the hopes of watching the unmanned Falcon rocket take off. But a launch controller quickly stopped takeoff, with the company later explaining via Twitter that it was postponing to “take a closer look at positioning of the second stage engine nozzle.” The next launch attempt will take place on Sunday morning, provided that there are no major problems. SpaceX, still recovering from a rocket explosion during a launch last summer, plans to send astronauts into space from the 39A moon pad next year.