Well, a few days after I praise SpaceX I learn that not only is the initial launch delayed again, albeit through no fault of their own but that they also had an incident at their test facility in Texas.
Today I read in a Space Politics article by Jeff Foust that because of of a conflict with a Titan IV launch carrying a classified national security payload the SpaceX launch has been delayed. I was actually aware that there might be a conflict but until an actual delay had been confirmed I said nothing.
This means the first Falcon launch won’t occur now until the 3rd quarter of this year. If the launch appears to be delayed further at the SpaceX Vandenberg launch site then it could be moved to the Kwajalein Atoll site which they are currently preparing.
As first reported on by Keith Cowing, my business partner at SpaceRef, the SpaceX test stand at their Texas test facility sustained minor damage while performing a Merlin engine acceptance test.
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