A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is seen on the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
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Elon Musk’s rocket company has been hoping to send an Italian surveillance satellite to orbit for the past few days, but the Falcon 9 launch has been delayed again, this time by a cruise ship without a clue.
With just over 30 seconds to go before the SpaceX rocket was set to liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Sunday, the company’s launch director put a stop to it.
“Hold, hold hold!” was the call heard over the control room audio. “We have a red range for a fouled range with a ship in the hazard area.”
Notices are sent around to all mariners in advance of launches from Cape Canaveral so that they know where and when to avoid which waters.
Port Canaveral near the Kennedy Space Center and the Space Force Station is a popular port of call for cruise liners.
While there have been numerous reports on social media of a few different vessels in the area around the scheduled launch time, it is not yet clear which ship is at fault.
So, the launch of the Italian Space Agency’s COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation satellite has been pushed back yet again. The mission was set to fly Thursday and Friday, but was postponed both times due to poor weather conditions.
SpaceX announced that it now hopes to launch Monday at 6:11 p.m. ET.
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