U.S. space firm SpaceX aborted a second launch attempt just before liftoff on Monday evening for a Falcon 9 rocket carrying Intelsat 35e, a commercial communications satellite.
The rocket was scheduled to lift off at 8:35 p.m. EDT on Monday (0035 GMT on Tuesday) from Launch Complex 39A at U.S. space agency NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and carry about 6,000-kilogram Intelsat 35e satellite to orbit.
But controllers called off the liftoff within less than 10 seconds to liftoff, just as they did on Sunday, the satellite's original launch date.
SpaceX said in a tweet that the rocket stood down for the day due to a violation of abort criteria, adding that the payload was in good health.
According to the company, "SpaceX is going to spend the 4th of July doing a full review of the rocket and launch pad systems. The next launch opportunity for Intelsat 35e is now... no earlier than Wednesday or Thursday. Only one chance to get it right ..." CEO Elon Musk tweeted.
The launch was supposed to be the third in just 10 days for SpaceX, which launched missions respectively on Friday and Sunday.
On July 2, SpaceX attempted to launch the Falcon 9 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, but failed before liftoff.
SpaceX's Dragon cargo spacecraft also returned to Earth from the International Space Station (ISS) on Monday, bringing back the first Chinese experiment ever to visit the orbiting laboratory.
The capsule is the first Dragon capsule that has visited the ISS, returned to Earth, been refurbished and used over again.
