SpaceX sends up satellites on 2nd launch attempt from Cape Canaveral
Sadie Harley
scientific editor
Andrew Zinin
lead editor
SpaceX got to within 15 seconds of a launch from Cape Canaveral on Monday, but a "hold, hold, hold" call from among the mission control team members forced an abort. They were back for another try on Tuesday and pulled it off.
A Falcon 9 rocket on the mPOWER-D mission with two more communication satellites for Luxembourg-based SES lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Space Launch Complex 40 at 5:12 p.m. Eastern time.
After the Monday abort call, the countdown clock halted at 11 seconds, the launch director announced teams would proceed with the removal of propellant. While the weather was a concern before the launch window opened, SpaceX did not state the reason for the abort, but did say the rocket and payload remained healthy and would try again to launch during the backup Tuesday window.
This was SES' 15th SpaceX launch. Company payloads were on the eighth ever Falcon 9 launch in 2013 and the first reused booster flight of a Falcon 9 in 2017, among others.
It was the sixth flight for the first-stage booster, which made a recovery landing downrange on the droneship Just Read the Instructions stationed in the Atlantic.
The payloads are the ninth and 10th O3b mPOWER satellites built by Boeing Space for SES. They are headed to medium-Earth orbit at about 5,000 miles altitude.
This was the 62nd launch on the Space Coast from all companies in 2025, with all but three coming from SpaceX.
Blue Origin had one with its New Glenn debut in January while United Launch Alliance has flown two Atlas V rockets as well.
ULA could fly before the end of the month with what would be its third-ever launch of the new Vulcan rocket, which has been prepping to fly its first national security mission, USSF-106, from Canaveral Space Launch Complex 41.
Blue Origin recently announced its next New Glenn launch would be for NASA's Mars-bound ESCAPADE mission, but didn't announce a target liftoff date.
SpaceX has flown 42 of its missions from Canaveral's SLC-40 and all 16 of the launches from Kennedy Space Center this year. The next KSC launch could come as early as July 31 for NASA's Crew-11 mission.
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