Lightning strikes disrupt SpaceX launch plans (VIDEOS)

SpaceX has postponed the launch of its Falcon Heavy spacecraft after lightning struck the launchpad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The American aerospace manufacturer said it would conduct another attempt on Friday evening.

In a message posted on Twitter on Thursday, SpaceX announced that “due to unfavorable weather, the team is standing down from tonight’s Falcon Heavy launch of @ViasatInc’s ViaSat-3 Americas mission.”

Rain and strong winds were reported in eastern Florida during the day, with the US National Weather Service issuing a tornado warning.

Footage shared online showed multiple lightning bolts striking the launchpad and the surrounding area on Thursday.

On board Falcon Heavy are several commercial satellites which it is expected to take into orbit. 

The delay follows a failure last Thursday when SpaceX’s Starship exploded just minutes after liftoff. The spacecraft failed to separate from the booster rocket and began to fall from the sky.

The flight termination system, which is essentially a self-destruct mechanism, “was commanded on both the booster and ship,” SpaceX later explained.

The launch had been put off earlier that week and was almost aborted during the countdown. 

“With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s test will help us improve Starship’s reliability as SpaceX seeks to make life multi-planetary,” the company said in a statement.