KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- SpaceX postponed for a day the debut launch of an upgraded version of its Falcon 9 rocket from the Space Coast.
- Upgraded Falcon 9 rocket was set to lift off from KSC
- Launch was called off just after 6 p.m. EDT
- Rocket to carry Bangladesh's 1st communications satellite
The company is calling its new Falcon 9 rocket "Block 5," which it says will be capable of 10 or more flights with fewer repairs required between launches.
It's part of SpaceX's goal of "rapid reusability" and improved reliability for its rockets.
"We try to summarize all these lessons learned into a booster that then is able to fly, be recovered and fly again multiple times without a lot of refurbishment," said Hans Koenigsmann, SpaceX's vice president of Build and Flight Reliability.
On board the rocket is Bangladesh's first communications satellite. It is designed to provide internet, television and phone services to rural areas, reducing the country's digital divide.
The rocket was set to deliver the satellite to geostationary transfer orbit a half-hour after launch.
Thursday's launch window at Launch Complex 39A was called off just after 6 p.m. EDT. No reason was immediately announced.
Eight minutes after launch, SpaceX had planned to try to land the first-stage booster on a drone ship off the coast so it can reuse the rocket.