NASA aborts SpaceX rocket launch after last-minute technical trouble
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SpaceX scrubbed a rocket launch Saturday from NASA’s historic moon pad in Florida just 13 seconds from liftoff.
A technical problem is being blamed for the delay.
On Twitter, NASA said the rocket has a "thrust vector control issue."
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The problem with the second-stage thrust control actually cropped up several minutes earlier. With just a single second to get the Falcon rocket airborne, flight controllers could not resolve the issue in time.
The unmanned Falcon was on a space station on a delivery mission.
A second launch attempt from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A could take place Sunday.
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Thousands of guests had jammed the space center to witness the comeback of 39A, last used in 2011 for the last space shuttle flight. "Hold, hold, hold!" a launch controller urged over the radio loops, to everyone's disappointment.
"Standing down to take a closer look at positioning of the second stage engine nozzle," SpaceX said later via Twitter.
Launch pad 39A was where Americans flew to the moon almost a half-century ago.
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This will be SpaceX's first launch from Florida since a rocket explosion Sept. 1. The accident during prelaunch testing heavily damaged that pad. SpaceX turned to Launch Complex 39A — which it leases from NASA — to resume flights. The company hopes to launch astronauts from 39A next year.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.