Falcon 9, as the bearer of hope for Elon Musk's Starlink service. (Image via: Endgadget)

SpaceX Vs. Wind: Falcon 9 Postponed

FLORIDA - Wind seems to be the deciding factor here. Elon Musk decided to launch Space X’s Falcon 9, after he and wind settle their dispute. Not because of technical difficulty, but because of the fierce wind.

Due to the windy Wednesday (15/5), Falcon 9 - a rocket containing 60 Starlink satellites – could not blast off to the low Earth orbit from Cape Canaveral launch site in Florida, United States.

These 60 Starlink satellites were supposed to be launched in order to relay internet network as part of its new service. Each satellite inside the Falcon 9 weighs approximately 227 kg. With 60 inside, these will be the heaviest the SpaceX rocket has ever loaded.

Nonetheless, 60 satellites are not enough, as the experts calculated that Musk would be required to launch 12 more satellites to make his internet service go global.

A big dream requires a big step. The businessman known to be the man behind “Tesla” electric car is starting a new trend, space investment. The Earth might be too small for a big man such as Elon Musk. He aims more than just a terrestrial investment.

As the matter of fact, the Starlink and the SpaceX launching service aim to be the financial power to hoist Musk’s ambition to take his customers to the Moon and colonize the red planet of Mars, which can only be trodden by rovers currently. SpaceX has already resulted in US$ 3 billion in annual revenue.

This ambitious journey of Musk is not as smooth as it seems. As he fired 7 members from the Starlink project, Musk has to face other challengers from OneWeb, LeoSat, and TeleSat also planning to establish an internet service.

The schedule for the launching of Falcon 9 is moved to Thursday (16/5) at 10.30 p.m local time.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/science/high-winds-force-spacex-to-postpone-first-launch-of-starlink-satellites-5730369/