SpaceX rocket launch delayed a week by poor weather
Launches may resume after strong winds and heavy rain subside in California.
SpaceX's return to space will have to wait at least another week.
The company had planned to resume liftoffs on Sunday after finishing its investigation into the spectacular explosion of a Falcon 9 rocket in September. But inclement weather in California has forced a delay of the rocket's launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base outside of Los Angeles until at least Jan. 14, SpaceX said in a tweet Sunday morning.
The delay comes two days after the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorized SpaceX's Commercial Space Transportation License, allowing it to resume launches. SpaceX launches have been suspended since Sept. 1, when a prelaunch test at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida failed in a massive explosion.
The rocket and its $195 million payload were destroyed, causing heavy damage to Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral.
Like much of the country, California is getting pounded this weekend by extreme weather. Rain and gusty winds are expected to ramp up Sunday, taking aim at California's central coast and the San Francisco Bay Area, the National Weather Service said. Some areas were expected to receive 10 or more inches of rain over the weekend.