“Due to the shutdown removing key members of the civilian workforce, the 45th Space Wing will not be able to support commercial static fires taking place on KSC,” the Wing said, further noting that launch operations at KSC and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station are also on hold until the shutdown is resolved.
SpaceX teams have fueled the 230-foot-tall Falcon Heavy rocket at pad 39A at least twice ahead of the static test fire, which is essentially a test before the test – engineers will examine data from the 12-second firing of the rocket’s 27 Merlin main engines before giving the all clear to launch on its premiere mission.
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
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