Sunday’s Falcon 9 rocket failure may have blemished SpaceX’s success record, but the mishap will not keep the entrepreneurial space company from competing for U.S. military launch contracts with rival United Launch Alliance, according to an Air Force general.
SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket at 8:51 a.m. EST (1351 GMT) Sunday from Cape Canaveral with the first in a new line of upgraded U.S. Air Force GPS navigation satellites. The launch was delayed five days due to technical and weather concerns.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket rolled out to its launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, on Monday, one day before its scheduled liftoff carrying seven satellites into orbit on commercial communications and climate research missions.