{"id":34702,"date":"2023-12-12T20:15:07","date_gmt":"2023-12-12T20:15:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/spacex-postpones-planned-launch-of-us-militarys-x-37b-spaceplane-the-express-tribune\/"},"modified":"2023-12-12T20:15:07","modified_gmt":"2023-12-12T20:15:07","slug":"spacex-postpones-planned-launch-of-us-militarys-x-37b-spaceplane-the-express-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/spacex-postpones-planned-launch-of-us-militarys-x-37b-spaceplane-the-express-tribune\/","title":{"rendered":"SpaceX postpones planned launch of US military’s X-37B spaceplane | The Express Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A planned Monday night launch of the US\u00a0military’s secretive X-37B robot spaceplane on its seventh mission to orbit, and its first flight atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, was postponed for at least 24 hours, SpaceX said.<\/p>\n

The flight was called off for the night about 25 minutes before the start of a targeted launch window set to open at 8:14 p.m. EST (0114 GMT Tuesday) as the rocket stood poised for liftoff from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.<\/p>\n

In a message posted on the social media platform X, Elon Musk’s California-based rocket venture said the countdown was halted “due to a ground side issue,” adding that the “vehicle and payload remain healthy.” SpaceX did not elaborate.<\/p>\n

The company did not immediately say when it would try again. The mission’s next launch opportunity is Tuesday night, SpaceX said.<\/p>\n

The original plan to send the spacecraft to orbit late on Sunday was scrubbed due to poor weather conditions at the Cape.<\/p>\n

The delays came on what was to have been the seventh mission flown by the X-37B, and its first launch atop a Falcon Heavy, composed of three reusable rocket cores strapped together and capable of lofting the vehicle far higher in orbit than ever before.<\/p>\n

Roughly the size of a small bus and resembling a miniature space shuttle craft, the X-37B is built to deploy various payloads and conduct technology experiments in long-duration orbital flights.<\/p>\n

The X-37B has flown six previous missions since 2010, its last flight lasting well over two years before the vehicle’s return landing in November 2022.<\/p>\n

The US\u00a0Defense Department discloses few details about its operation, which is carried out as part of the military’s National Security Space Launch program.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n