The Supermoon and SpaceX Launch Amid ULA Scrub
SpaceX successfully launched a mission Wednesday night as the full supermoon rose over the Space Coast, while United Launch Alliance (ULA) scrubbed its launch attempt, planning to retry Thursday.
Launches at Cape Canaveral
Though SpaceX has dominated launches this year, ULA aimed to complete a pair of launches Wednesday to tie the annual record for orbital missions from the Space Coast. Both a SpaceX Falcon 9 and ULA Atlas V stood less than two miles apart at separate launch pads at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station earlier that day.
The Beaver Moon
The moon rose at 5:41 p.m. just before the scheduled launches. Known as the Beaver Moon, November’s supermoon was the second of three this year and the closest to Earth, at just under 222,000 miles.
“Its proximity is what makes it a supermoon, which can look up to 14% bigger and 30% brighter than the faintest full moon of the year,” according to NASA.
Launch Outcome
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launched first at 8:30 p.m. from Space Launch Complex 40, carrying 29 Starlink satellites on the Starlink 6-81 mission. Meanwhile, ULA had to postpone their Atlas V launch and will attempt again Thursday at 10:16 p.m.
“Falcon 9 launches 29 @Starlink satellites from Florida,”
Summary
The supermoon illuminated the Space Coast as SpaceX achieved launch success Wednesday night, while ULA postponed their attempt, planning to try again the following evening.