Cruise Ship Forces SpaceX To Scrub Rocket Launch

SpaceX was set to launch a Falcon 9 rocket on Sunday evening but was forced to scrub the mission. However, unlike past missions that were scrubbed at the last minute, this one had nothing to do with weather or a problem with the rocket.

Rather, a cruise ship ventured into the exclusion zone along the Falcon 9 flight path, leaving SpaceX no choice but to scrub the launch. SpaceX is working on a 24-hour turnaround, meaning they hope to launch the rocket today. SpaceX did confirm that it waited as long as possible for the Coast Guard to move the cruise ship out of the exclusion zone.

However, ultimately time ran out, and there was no choice but to delay the mission. This delay marks the fourth delay for the mission, with the most recent delay caused by weather.

The mission hopes to launch at 6:11 PM EST on Monday, January 31. The payload aboard the Falcon 9 is an Italian Space Agency Earth observation satellite. Weather is expected to be good for launch today.