Space X Falcon 9 launch of Italian Cosmo Sky Med 2 FM scrubbed by Cruise Ship!

Space X attempted to launch the Italian Cosmo Sky Med 2 earth resources satellite from Cape Canaveral today. The launch had been scrubbed twice by bad weather. Today's launch was scrubbed at last second by , wait for it , a !!@#$% CRUISE SHIP !!

The ship the, HARMONY OF THE SEA, had entered the exclusion zone fouling the range. The launch was scrubbed do to safety concerns

Wonder if Coast Guard can pull this idiots license, can they fine them What about SPACE X suing them to recover the costs associated with
the scrubbed launch??

a reply to: firerescue

At the very least, I would think the captain's license would be on the line.....

a reply to: firerescue
Second biggest cruise ship on the planet according to wiki-its huge!
upload.wikimedia.org...

You would have thought they only let highly skilled Captains take that out for a spin.
I bet he was trying to get a good view of the rocket launch and made a GPS error or something.

Looking at the TFR, looks a bit non standard. Looks like they will be launching tomorrow, between 1556-1640 MST.

Do ships have restricted float areas?

Looking at this odd shaped TFR, looks like it runs south of Cape Canaveral all the way down to Ft Pierce about 15 NM off shore. And 13nm wide. I can see a ship easily floating in that area and not know they are in the launch area.

a reply to: 38181

Usually a NOTAM (Notice to Aviators and Mariners) is issued outlining the area to be avoided and time

Assume Space x or Range Safety at the Cape issued the proper NOTAM for the launch

If so the blame is on the cruise line for violating the restricted zone

No doubt Space X lawyers working up a damage claims for the scrubbed launch

originally posted by: Silcone Synapse
a reply to: firerescue
Second biggest cruise ship on the planet according to wiki-its huge!
upload.wikimedia.org...

You would have thought they only let highly skilled Captains take that out for a spin.
I bet he was trying to get a good view of the rocket launch and made a GPS error or something.

It takes that route all the time, and moves relatively slowly. The Space-x people should have seen it long before the launch window, and warned it off 90-degrees to port.

originally posted by: 38181
Looking at this odd shaped TFR, looks like it runs south of Cape Canaveral all the way down to Ft Pierce about 15 NM off shore. And 13nm wide. I can see a ship easily floating in that area and not know they are in the launch area.

They're using the south polar corridor again, and this was a RTLS flight. So they needed the extra range space for the booster coming back down.

a reply to: firerescue

Aren’t ships talking to a dispatch center or have some sort of coms when navigating close to shore?

I wouldn’t think that the ship would know anything about restricted float areas without some sort of communication or notifications. Especially south of the known cape canaveral launch zone, It’s not like they launch everyday either.

Range violations are relatively common with space launches.

This one might have caused some confusion as itcs trajectory is basically due south from Cape Canaveral. This is an extremely rare trajectory from the Cape and only Space X is authorized for these launches as they recover the first stage and dont drop boosters that can fall on ships. Most launches have a Northeast to Southeast trajectory, well clear of the port's shipping channel. This particular launch's polar/sun synchronisis path takes the rocket over the shipping route into Port Canaveral.

This exclusion zone is made in case the rocket explodes and is where the debris field would rain down.

Not sure why a cruise ship didnt get the notice(or choose to ignore it because it would affect their schedule). It is extremely unlikely they will face any consequences, unfortunately.

a reply to: carewemust

No. This south trajectory is extremely rare from Cape Canaveral and it crosses over the shipping channel into Port Canaveral.

Only SpaceX is allowed this trajectory and it was only recently approved with a few years ago. If my memory is correct, this will only be the 4th time SpaceX has used the south trajectory.

Before SpaceX was authorized for this flight path, the last time a rocket used this path was in the 1960's.. it also caused some controversy back then as a rocket failure scattered debris over Cuba, killing a cow.

a reply to: firerescue

This happens fairly frequently, i can remember several Space Shuttle scrubs from a vessel in the range and countless rocket launches.

Never have I heard of the vessel being held liable for the scrub, even though it appears this cruise ship blatantly ignored the restrictions.

It is usually a team effort with the local marine patrol, Coast Guard, Air Force, and sometimes Navy to keep vessels warned and clear of the launch hazard zone.

The Coast Guard issues 'Security' calls frequently on Ch. 16 and 22A leading up to a launch and cruise ship is required to monitor Ch. 16 so I do not believe the Cruise ship if they claimed they did not know about the restricted area.

a reply to: firerescue

The rest of the world doesn't come to a standstill because someone launches a rocket.

a reply to: jrod

They're picking up the cadence of southward launches, not just the South Polar Corridor, but also a southeast trajectory for some of the Starlink program that takes them over the Bahamas and Hispaniola. The LZ is just to the north of Cat Island and east of Great Abaco.

Both one of the above mentioned flights, supporting Starlink Group 4-7, and CSG-2 are currently scheduled to go up tomorrow. I think they'll be doing a lot more from here this year, despite having the facilities (and admittedly better launch corridor) at Vandenberg. I'm not complaining, as they go right over my house.

a reply to: firerescue

Wonder was supposed to sail from Port Canaveral. It Was supposed to be there. Now, the question is. Why did it leave port?

I would say that this is space-x's fault, They should have been monitoring the sea traffic and warned ships off. Who knows if the ships crew knew about exactly where they were not supposed to be and even then, those ships are on schedules, they should have been aware of things long ago and constantly reminded. How many little boats are out there fishing and running drugs, they most likely were not notified properly, and who is going to pay the bill for the loss of income from these fishing boats? The coast guard should also have been monitoring things, it seems to me that they should have contacted that cruise ship before it got into that zone...they do have radios on those ships.

a reply to: rickymouse

You dont seem to understand how this works. The 24 hours leading up to the launch, the Coast Guard will issue Security calls advising of the restricted area due to a launch. As the time gets closer launch, the Coast Guard and others will patrol the area and make contact with those in the danger zone.

This cruise ship was likely well aware of the launch and assumed it was going east and not an issue or ignored it and did not care because of their schedule and lack of consequences for causing a scrub.

a reply to: cmdrkeenkid

The South polar and sun synchronisis (high inclination) flight path from Cape Canaveral has a narrow azimuth as it has to thread the needle between the US and the Bahamas. Most high inclination orbits for SpaceX are still done out of Vandenberg.

The Cape high inclination launches need to be relatively light launches as it it not fuel efficient qnd a dog leg maneuver is often needed once clear of south Florida. Even with the drone ship recovery, it still is not fuel efficient.

However about 2 to 3 launches a year now meet the criteria for Cape Canaveral's south corridor and the lack of fuel efficiency is made up by the time and money saved by bringing the booster back to the Cape via RTL or drone ship.

This launch is an RTL, they have already had a drone ship recovery.of a polar launch too, I was looking for it off of Key West but the morning sun was where I expected it to see it.

I have been wanting to get a close up view of a polar launch since SpaceX started using that corridor, as my parents live in Cocoa Beach.

What is also cool about this trajectory is Sebastian to Stuart Florida will hear the sonic boom of the rocket, something the coast does not hear with the standard easterly trajectory. Of course all the area around Cape Canaveral hears the sonic boom from the booster on an RTL. From south Cocoa Beach, we hear the boom just as the booster is landing.

a reply to: rickymouse

One day I will hook a square grouper or two.

Good points btw. Also, most of those little guys don’t monitor radios, don’t file float plans, and don’t know anything about airspace and rocketry.

a reply to: jrod

Oh, so we're practically neighbors. I live in PSL. If I can't get up to KSC (I watch from the Jetty Park boat ramp) I'll at least go to Jaycee Park in Vero to watch.

From the 22nd of Jan. May have not been updated??

ATLANTIC OCEAN – FLORIDA – CAPE CANAVERAL: Rocket Launch Activity
ATLANTIC OCEAN – FLORIDA – CAPE CANAVERAL: SPACE LAUNCH ZONES (VIRTUAL- AIS PRIVATE AID TO NAVIGATION)
30-34-53N/80-30-00W to beginning
Date: 24 - 30 JAN: 0000-2359 (Local) GUNEX AREA 31J
29-20-00N/79-50-00W to
29-20-00N/79-40-00W to
29-10-00N/79-40-00W to
29-10-00N/79-50-00W to beginning
Date: 24 - 30 JAN: 0000-2359 (Local) GUNEX AREA 27C
30-00-00N/81-00-00W to
30-00-00N/80-50-00W to
29-50-00N/80-50-00W to
29-50-00N/81-00-00W to beginning
Date: 24 - 30 JAN: 0000-2359 (Local) AREA JSWTR (underwater shallow water training range with hydrophones)
30-28-33.348N/80-22-17.688W
30-28-39.360N/79-59-58.920W
30-02-57.912N/80-06-48.168W
30-03-03.960N/80-28-32.268W
Date: 24 - 30 JAN: 0000-2359 (Local) DIPPING AREA 26G
30-00N3 80-10W9
30-10N4 80-10W9
30-10N4 80-20W0
30-00N3 80-06W4
30-04N7 80-20W0
Date: 24 JAN: 0700-2359 (Local) W-138B
32-00N5 80-05W3
32-00N5 79-17W4
31-24N0 79-27W5
31-24N0 80-30W1
*PLEASE SEE ADDITIONAL ENCLOSURES AT THE END OF THIS NOTICE*
Mariners making plans to transit offshore Cape Canaveral Florida are advised of frequent rocket launch activity and associated launch hazard
areas which may include free falling debris and/or descending vehicles or vehicle components under various means of control. Mariners should
contact Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville at (904) 714-7558 for more information. Specific launch schedule information and Marine Safety
Information Bulletins (MSIB) can be found at the following website homeport.uscg.mil...
Upcoming launch information and Launch Hazard Areas are also posted on the following Patrick Air Force Base website
www.patrick.af.mil... or by calling 1-800-470-7232.
The U.S. Coast Guard has approved the use of a Virtual Automatic Identification System Private Aid to Navigation (V-AIS PATON) to mark a
restricted navigation area during a space launch. The Coast Guard authorized the Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, better known as
SpaceX, to use V-AIS PATONs to inform mariners of non-charted restricted zones around launch areas. While the Coast Guard does not approve
V-AIS PATON for all restricted areas, particularly charted ones, the space launch zones are non-charted, dynamic and temporary. Safety zones
are designed to keep vessels from entering the launch area while an active rocket launch is taking place.
The Captain of the Port Jacksonville may activate one or more of the safety zones described in 33 CFR 165.775, typically 45 minutes prior to the
opening of a scheduled launch window. At that time, SpaceX will transmit V-AIS aids marking the corners of the active safety zone. The V-AIS aids
will remain transmitting until the Captain of the Port Jacksonville has deactivated the safety zone. For example, if zone B as described in 33 CFR
165.775(a)(2) were activated, the V-AIS aids would be labeled:
N 28° 48.8’ W 80° 28.9’ (28.813333 -80.481667) N1*X*33CFR165.775 (A) (2), MMSI# 993663027
N 28° 29.7’ W 80° 18.9’ (28.495000 -80.315000) E2*X*33CFR165.775 (A) (2), MMSI# 993663028
N 28° 29.7’ W 80° 31.6’ (28.495000 -80.526667) S3*X*33CFR165.775 (A) (2), MMSI# 993663029
N 28° 40.1’ W 80° 38.4’ (28.668333 -80.640000) W4*X*33CFR165.775 (A) (2), MMSI# 993663030
If a vessel equipped with AIS is determined to be entering the launch hazard area, an addressed safety message 14 with the text "REGULATED
AREA 33 CFR 165.775 ACTIVE STAY CLEAR" will be transmitted to the vessel. All provisions of the safety zone remain in effect; no person or vessel
may enter, pass through or remain within the safety zone unless authorized by the Captain of the Port. Mariners are required to contact the
Coast Guard via VHF-FM channel 16 to arrange for this authorization.