After the Argentine radar satellite, another SpaceX space mission was postponed due to a new coronary pneumonia outbreak.
The US Space Force Space and Missile Systems Center has decided to reschedule the launch of the GPS III SV03 satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Force Base in Florida to reduce new coronary pneumonia Potential impact on launchers and orbit operators.
The GPS III SV03 satellite was originally planned to be launched on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in late April this year. This will be the second country that SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will perform Safe space launch mission. But now the plan is not earlier than June 30, and will be re-evaluated in May.
The US Space Force said in a statement that the current GPS system has 31 satellites in orbit and is in a healthy state, allowing strategic suspension. The Space and Missile System Center still plans to complete the next three GPS satellite launches in 2020.
This is the second time SpaceX has postponed the launch due to the new crown epidemic. Earlier, SpaceX originally planned to launch the Argentine radar satellite SAOCOM 1B on March 30, but Argentina implemented strict travel measures due to the epidemic, and the final launch was delayed.
However, SpaceX ’s “Star Chain” satellite will be issued correctly. The seventh batch of “Star Chain” satellites will still be launched from the Kennedy Space Center next week. According to the “Aerospace News” report, Doug Schiess, commander of the US 45th Space Wing, said the launch will streamline personnel and maintain social distance.
Doug Schiess said that in the current health emergency, the decision to support the launch is considered on a case-by-case basis. Compared with national security tasks such as GPS, the launch of the “Star Chain” satellite does not require much manpower. With fewer personnel, it is easier to implement physical isolation.
SpaceX’s launch preparation process does not require government personnel to participate. The autonomous flight safety system adopted by Falcon 9 also reduces the manpower for ground sensor operations. Doug Schiess said that when the AEHF-6 military communications satellite was launched at the end of March, about 300 government personnel were needed at the base, while only about 200 were needed to perform the “Star Chain” mission. Half of them were in the operation center and the other half were in the launch area.