Launch Attempt Scheduled For Friday

They're checking... double checking... and TRIPLE checking on Omalek, as SpaceX readies its Falcon 1 launch vehicle for its first flight once again. A full-scale test of vehicle systems, including initiating the flight countdown auto sequence and even briefly firing the main engine on the launch stand, is scheduled to take place Thursday, February 9.

If no flight critical anomalies are detected, SpaceX says the actual launch will take place on Friday, February 10. The launch window on Friday is 12pm - 7 pm, Pacific Standard Time.

When we last left SpaceX, the company was forced to scrub its December 19 launch attempt due to the failure of an electronic component in one of the first stage fuel tank pressurization valves. Even the booster's triple-redundant pressure sensors were unable to stop the failure from scrubbing the mission, as when this component shorted, it caused the valve controller board to reboot -- effectively eliminating the redundancy.

The company notes on its website it was the first time 3.5 years of hard testing that they had ever seen such a failure occur. Moreover, the component in question has a cycle life and power rating far in excess of the theoretical load that it should see. 

To address that specific problem, SpaceX replaced the component with one that has a "quasi-infinite" lifespan. The company is also taking steps that will isolate any issue with this component should it go screwy in the future.

The company also shipped a new first stage to Hawaii via C-5 Galaxy, where it arrived just in time to catch the barge from there to Omalek a few days before New Year's Eve.

SpaceX was discouraged, of course, by the delays -- but not downtrodden.

"Those familiar with the launch business will know that countdown scrubs are a way of life," said company founder Elon Musk. "It's often said that the safest time to schedule your vacation is around launch day and that's true more often than not. Even rockets that have launched hundreds of times from launch pads that are in heavy use have multiple scrubs."

"Not too long ago, there was a Titan launch that had eleven scrubs and Delta launch that had six," Musk pointedly writes on the SpaceX website.

FMI: www.spacex.com