SpaceX aborts rocket launch after countdown

A power issue caused automatic shutdown after the zero count.

March 15, 2020, 11:48 AM

Three, two, one, zero, grounded.

A SpaceX rocket launch was aborted after countdown finished Sunday at Kennedy Space Center. Although some of the Falcon 9's rockets had already ignited, a power issue triggered an auto abort, the company said.

Huge plums of smoke billowed out into the air while the rocket stayed in place on the launch pad.

"The purpose of the countdown is to catch potential issues prior to flight. There are a thousand ways a launch could go wrong and only one way it can go right," Michael Andrews, a SpaceX supply chain supervisor, said during the launch's livestream.

PHOTO: People watch from Playalinda Beach at Canaveral National Seashore as a cloud of smoke forms when a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 60 Starlink satellites failed to launch, March 15, 2020.
People watch from Playalinda Beach at Canaveral National Seashore as a cloud of smoke forms when a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 60 Starlink satellites failed to launch, March 15, 2020.
Paul Hennessy/Polaris

The rocket was set to launch 60 new satellites into orbit. SpaceX said it will determine a date to re-attempt lift off.

In January, SpaceX conducted a safety test where it intentionally blew up one of its Falcon 9 rockets to test its escape pod. Earlier this month, the company conducted a cargo transport mission to the International Space Station.

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