SpaceX scrubs Falcon 9 rocket launch due to strong winds

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Strong winds scrubbed a Falcon 9 rocket launch early Tuesday at Kennedy Space Center.

The 2 1/2 hour launch window was scheduled to open at 1:30 a.m., but the launch was scrubbed shortly before 1 a.m. due to the windy conditions.

Hopeful spectators gathered along U.S. 1 in Titusville with binoculars to watch the launch from across the Indian River, which would have been SpaceX’s second launch from the historic Pad 39A -- the pad from which most of the Apollo missions blasted off.

“We went to the Kennedy Space Center today, and it was fascinating,” would-be spectator Kathy Stickler said. “So it makes you just want to see more.”

Unlike previous missions, the rocket won’t return to Earth.

The rocket was set to carry the 12,000 pound Echostar 23 communications satellite into orbit -- the rocket’s heaviest payload ever.

“(I’m) a little disappointed, but safety first,” space fan Tony Stickler said. “No sense in wasting the money if it is not going to go up properly.”

SpaceX hasn’t yet said when the launch will be rescheduled for, but officials did say they’re considering giving it another shot Thursday.

Cox Media Group