SpaceX’s Maiden Rocket Launch Is Scrubbed Again

The would-be maiden launch of a new rocket designed to sharply cut the cost of lifting satellites into orbit was postponed again Monday because of a “structural issue” with its first-stage tank.

The initial flight of Falcon I rocket has been rescheduled for early next year, El Segundo-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp. said.

The fledgling company, also known as SpaceX, was founded by Silicon Valley entrepreneur Elon Musk. He hopes to shake up the industry with a family of rockets that would cost a fraction of the current generation of satellite launchers by Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp.

But developing reliable rockets is difficult, and even those that have been on the market for decades are rife with delays.

Monday’s delay was the second time SpaceX’s inaugural rocket launch had been stalled.

Last month, technical glitches forced the company to postpone the first launch attempt. And Monday’s scheduled launch in the Marshall Islands was scrubbed after the start of the 15-minute countdown was put on hold several times because of high winds.

SpaceX executives said that the exact cause of the delay was not immediately known.

The first stage is designed to return to Earth with a parachute so it can recovered by a ship. SpaceX touts the capability to reuse the first stage as one factor for the low cost of its rocket.