Update May 13, 7:18 p.m. EDT (2318 UTC): NASA, SpaceX scrub launch on Wednesday, target NET Friday.
In a bit of deja vu, SpaceX and NASA were once again getting ready to launch a Cargo Dragon loaded with 6,500 pounds of science and supplies to the International Space Station from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Wednesday evening, but poor weather got the best of them yet again.
Unlike Tuesday’s launch attempt, which scrubbed well in advance of fueling the Falcon 9 rocket, on Wednesday, teams progressed through the countdown until the final minute when it was determined that a launch would violate the cumulus cloud rule.
Liftoff of the CRS-34 mission, atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40), is now scheduled for Friday, May 15, at 6:05 p.m. EDT (2205 UTC), with the rocket flying on a northeasterly trajectory to target a rendezvous with the orbiting space station. SpaceX’s 34th mission for NASA as part of its Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contracts.
The 45th Weather Squadron forecast a 35 percent chance for acceptable weather on Tuesday evening, thanks to a slow moving front moving across the State of Florida. During a media briefing on Monday, Launch Weather Officer Brian Cizek said that the forecast has been trending worse these past few days.
