SpaceX Scrubs Midnight Launch, Reschedules Starlink Mission

CAP CANAVERAL, Florida – SpaceX has postponed its planned launch of the Falcon 9 rocket for the 60th time this year, just moments before liftoff late Sunday night. The launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station was scheduled for 11:58 p.m. EDT on May 19, but the company aborted the mission without giving an immediate reason.

SpaceX stated on social media, “Falcon 9 had an auto abort just prior to T-0. Vehicle and payload are in good health, and teams are resetting for a launch attempt no earlier than Tuesday, May 20.” This Starlink 12-15 mission will carry 23 Starlink V2 Mini satellites into low Earth orbit, 13 of which are equipped with Direct to Cell capabilities.

The 45th Weather Squadron had predicted a 95 percent chance of favorable weather for the launch window, though they noted a small risk of violation due to cumulus clouds. SpaceX now has a backup launch opportunity set for Tuesday evening, May 20, at 11:18 p.m. EDT (0318 UTC).

Leading up to this mission, SpaceX was prepared to debut new Falcon 9 booster B1095, which had previously rolled to the launch site on Saturday. This will mark the fourth new booster deployed by SpaceX this calendar year.

Following the launch, B1095 aims to land on the SpaceX droneship, ‘Just Read the Instructions,’ approximately eight minutes post-liftoff. If successful, it will be the 121st touchdown on this vessel and the 449th booster landing overall.

SpaceX continues to manage a backlog of satellite launches, worth an estimated $7 billion, while investigating a recent Falcon 9 booster disintegration that occurred on a prior flight.