Scrub of AsiaSat 6 could impact launch of SpaceX’s CRS-4 mission

Photo Credit: SpaceX

Jason Rhian

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla – The launch of a commercial satellite, AsiaSat-6, has become one of the determining factors as to whether-or-not SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft will take to the skies on Sept. 19 as is currently planned. With the recent delay of the flight of the AsiaSat payload, the U.S. Air Force’s Eastern Range could potentially see as many three launches – in a time span of about ten days.

A spokesperson with NASA’s Kennedy Space Center relayed to SpaceFlight Insider that, at present, the space agency is moving forward with plans to launch the fourth operational flight to the space station and the fifth flight of the Dragon overall near the middle of next month. For its part, NASA appears to have adopted a policy of “wait-and-see.”

“We’re still moving forward with the September 19 launch date. SpaceX says they need a little time to validate some things with their Falcon 9,” said NASA Spokesperson George Diller. “However, if they can launch the F9 with AsiaSat 6 by the middle of the month – we should still be able to carry out the mission on September 19.”

In order to find out more information about the progress being made to launch AsiaSat 6, SpaceFlight Insider reached out to SpaceX for comment. The Hawthorne, California-based company stated that a quote issued shortly after the Aug. 26 scrub was the only information that the company was able to release on the matter. A recent flight test anomaly has caused speculation that the company might have encountered an issue which needs to be addressed before the AsiaSat 6 mission can get underway.

The firm’s Falcon 9 Reusable test article exploded in the skies above Texas during a Aug. 22 flight. The vehicle’s flight termination hardware was activated during the test which resulted in the loss of the vehicle. SpaceX has stated that while it is normal to assume that this loss caused the AsiaSat 6 mission to be delayed – that this is not the case.

The company’s statement on the event suggests that the delay in the launch of AsiaSat 6 could be as long as two weeks. If it is just two weeks, then there should not be a conflict on the Eastern Range (United Launch Alliance has the launch of the CLIO spacecraft slated to take place on Sept. 16, with the CRS-4 mission scheduled to take place three days later). Normally, the U.S. Air Force requires 2-3 days to reset the range to support a launch.

SpaceX’s highly-successful Dragon spacecraft has launched four times already to the International Space Station under the $1.6 billion Commercial Resupply Services contract that the company has with NASA. SpaceX, along with Orbital Sciences Corporation delivers cargo to the orbiting laboratory on a regular basis. The next Orbital mission is slated to take place near the end of October. At present, it is unclear if a possible delay of SpaceX’s CRS-4 mission would impact the time that Orbital will need to conduct their flight.

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