SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch delayed

SpaceX scrubbed its Falcon Heavy launch of Viasat’s ViaSat-3 F3 satellite on Monday, then retargeted the mission for Wednesday, April 29, from Kennedy Space Center. (spacex.com) (spaceflightnow.com) The company said the new 85-minute launch window opens at 10:13 a.m. Eastern on Wednesday, with a backup opportunity on Thursday, April 30, opening at 10:09 a.m. Eastern. (spacex.com) Monday’s attempt was halted in the final minute of the countdown because of poor weather near the Cape. Spaceflight Now reported the scrub at 10:48 a.m. Eastern after the window had opened at 10:21 a.m. (spaceflightnow.com) (upi.com) ViaSat-3 F3 is the third satellite in Viasat’s ViaSat-3 class. Viasat said it is designed to expand the company’s global network with more than 1 terabit per second of throughput over the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. (viasat.com) Viasat said Falcon Heavy was chosen because it can place the satellite into a more favorable transfer orbit, cutting time to orbit before the spacecraft uses electric propulsion to climb to geostationary orbit. The company said service is expected by late summer 2026 after in-orbit testing. (viasat.com) The mission is also Falcon Heavy’s first flight in about 18 months. NASASpaceFlight said the rocket had not flown since October 2024, making this a return-to-service mission for SpaceX’s heavy-lift launcher. (nasaspaceflight.com) Falcon Heavy uses three Falcon 9-style boosters strapped together, giving it 27 Merlin engines at liftoff. For this mission, Spaceflight Now reported the two side boosters were set to return to Cape Canaveral while the center core would be expended. (spaceflightnow.com) (mynews13.com) If weather cooperates on Wednesday, SpaceX will finally send up the last member of Viasat’s ViaSat-3 trio after a two-day slip. The rocket is back on the pad; the clock is the only thing that changed. (spacex.com)