SpaceXs next Falcon 9 rocket was hydraulically hoisted vertical Sunday morning at launch pad 39A at NASAs Kennedy Space Center, less than 12 hours before a scheduled blastoff with the Intelsat 35e communications satellite. <\/p>\n
The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket is not fitted with the landing legs or aerodynamic steering fins needed for recovery because the 14,905-pound (6,761-kilogram) Boeing-built spacecraft mounted atop the Falcon 9 is too heavy to permit a controlled descent of the first stage. <\/p>\n
SpaceX is preparing for its second launch in a little more than nine days at pad 39A, a turnaround that will set a record for the shortest time between missions from the historic launch complex, assuming the Falcon 9 lifts off in the next few days. <\/p>\n
Sundays launch, scheduled for 7:36 p.m. EDT (2336 GMT), will be the 10th Falcon 9 mission this year, and the eighth from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. <\/p>\n
Follow our live coverage of the countdown and launch. <\/p>\n
Email the author. <\/p>\n
Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
View post: <\/p>\n
Photos: Expendable Falcon 9 launcher raised vertical at pad 39A - Spaceflight Now<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" SpaceXs next Falcon 9 rocket was hydraulically hoisted vertical Sunday morning at launch pad 39A at NASAs Kennedy Space Center, less than 12 hours before a scheduled blastoff with the Intelsat 35e communications satellite. The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket is not fitted with the landing legs or aerodynamic steering fins needed for recovery because the 14,905-pound (6,761-kilogram) Boeing-built spacecraft mounted atop the Falcon 9 is too heavy to permit a controlled descent of the first stage. SpaceX is preparing for its second launch in a little more than nine days at pad 39A, a turnaround that will set a record for the shortest time between missions from the historic launch complex, assuming the Falcon 9 lifts off in the next few days Continue reading