SpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell has helped launch dozens of rockets into space but she says Saturday’s mission from Florida’s Space Coast might top them all.
“This is probably the most exciting launch for me at SpaceX, both because it’s with NASA and because of where we are launching from tomorrow,” Shotwell said at a news conference Friday.
SpaceX on Saturday will mark the return to rocket launches for Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A, the site that hosted both the first flight to the moon in 1969 and the most-recent U.S. launch in 2011.
SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to take off at 10:01 a.m. and carry with it cargo that includes hundreds of science experiments to the International Space Station.
One of the mission’s final obstacles was cleared Friday afternoon, when the Federal Aviation Authority officially signed off on the flight.
However, a helium leak in the rocket’s second-stage booster created a cause for pause.
CEO Elon Musk first reported a potential problem on Twitter and Shotwell confirmed the issue at a news conference, held in front of the launch pad on Friday.
This weekend's scheduled SpaceX rocket launch will be the first on NASA property in five years.
This weekend's scheduled SpaceX rocket launch will be the first on NASA property in five years.
Kennedy Space Center director Robert Cabana said it took about three years to prepare the launch pad for use in commercial flight.
“This pad would have just sat here and rusted out,” he said. “What an awesome use of a great American asset.”
The launch will carry with it science experiments related to autonomous vehicles, lighting and biological tissue regeneration.
Shortly after launch, Central Florida residents might hear an explosion-like sound as the rocket returns land on the coast. Last time that happened, a sonic boom rattled windows and touched off concern from area residents.
During the wide-ranging news conference, Shotwell shot down a recent report from the Government Accountability Office, which said SpaceX’s goal to launch its commercial crew program by 2019 was unachievable.
“The hell we won’t fly by 2019,” she said.
The launch will be the first for SpaceX from Florida since an explosion at Launch Complex 40 forced the company to accelerate its timeline for the retooling of 39A.
Shotwell said 39A would host the first relaunch of a refurbished rocket as early as next month.
The rejuvenation of the pad is a welcome sight to Cabana, himself an astronaut who launched from there four times.
“It means a lot to see the pad just not sit and waste away,” he said. “We want to see more launches off all of these pads.”
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