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[b]SpaceX confirms Friday for next launch attempt[/b] NASA and SpaceX have confirmed Friday (April 18) for the next launch attempt for the Falcon 9 rocket to send the Dragon spacecraft on the company's third commercial resupply mission and fourth visit to the space station. Launch is scheduled for 3:25 p.m. EDT (1925 GMT). A launch on Friday results in a rendezvous with the space station on Sunday (April 20) and a grapple at 7:14 a.m EDT (1114 GMT). The U.S. Air Force 45th Weather Squadron forecast predicts a 40 percent chance of favorable weather, with a chance of showers and thunderstorms that could result in violating the Thick Cloud, Lightning and Flight Through Precipitation rules. SpaceX has settled on a backup launch date of Saturday, April 19 for the best pair of launch dates for the science payloads being delivered to the station. If needed, a Saturday launch would occur at 3:02 p.m. EDT (1902 GMT). This would be a three-day, rather than two-day, transit to the station with grapple on Tuesday (April 22). During Monday's (April 14) launch attempt, preflight checks detected that a helium valve in the stage separation pneumatic system was not holding the right pressure. This meant that the stage separation pistons would be reliant on a backup check valve. No issue was detected with the backup valve and a flight would likely have been successful, but SpaceX policy is not to launch with any known anomalies. SpaceX has brought the vehicle back to horizontal and is replacing the faulty valve, as well as inspecting the system for anything that may have contributed to the valve not working as designed.
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