March 30 Is Target Date For Historic Launch

SpaceX has conducted another static fire test of a previously-flown Falcon 9 booster in anticipation of using the rocket to boost another payload into orbit. If they are successful, it will be the first time a booster has been used to launch a second orbital mission.

The Falcon 9 was recovered last year on the company's landing barge in the Atlantic Ocean. After a year of delays, SpaceX has set March 30 as the date it plans to launch the rocket, and there is a lot riding on the mission.

Engadget reports that the launch show whether the boosters are truly reusable. If so, it could save millions per launch for NASA and private companies looking to send payloads into space. The payload for this launch is a communications satellite for SES S.A. The SES-10 satellite will be parked in a geostationary orbit and deliver television and internet services in Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America.

The two-hour-30-minute launch window for the "mission-proven" booster opens at 1800 EDT. The launch will be conducted from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center on the central Florida coast, according to Spaceflight Now.

On its previous mission, the booster lofted an unmanned Dragon cargo spacecraft to ISS in April of last year. It was the first orbital-class booster to be recovered on the landing barge "Of Course I Still Love You", and the second overall to be recovered by SpaceX.

The launch could be postponed by weather or technical issues.

(Image provided by SpaceX)

FMI: www.spacex.com