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Enlarge / A new Falcon 9 rocket, and a Dragon spacecraft, on the pad Thursday. (credit: SpaceX)
Early on Friday morning, within minutes of the opening—and closing—of an instantaneous launch window, SpaceX scrubbed the launch of its Falcon 9 rocket and Cargo Dragon supply mission to the International Space Station.
The company said it made the decision to stand down due to an “electrical issue” on its Of Course I Still Love You droneship, positioned just offshore for the Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage to land on. This is the first time SpaceX has stood down a launch attempt due to a problem related to recovering a first-stage booster. The company can probably thank NASA for being an understanding customer.
After the scrub, SpaceX also said there was a ground-based helium leak it wanted to check out before the rocket’s next launch attempt. This leak was located in a “quick-disconnect” interface on the rocket’s second stage, where helium is used to pressurize fuel tanks.
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