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Coast Guard investigates Royal Caribbean ship that ventured under hazard area of rocket’s path

Submitted by kgnadmin on

The US Coast Guard is conducting an investigation after a Royal Caribbean cruise ship ventured near the hazard area of the rocket trajectory on Sunday, causing the SpaceX launch from Cape Canaveral to be aborted at the last moment. According to Florida Today, Port Canaveral and Coast Guard confirmed that the cruise ship Harmony of the Seas was into the exclusion zone of the Falcon 9 rocket's flightpath forcing SpaceX to abort the launch and prepare for a 24-hour turnaround. 

"We can confirm the cruise ship was Harmony of the Seas. The Coast Guard is actively investigating Sunday’s cruise ship incursion and postponement of the SpaceX launch.Our primary concern is the safety of mariners at sea, and we will continue to work with our federal, state and local port partners to ensure safe and navigable waterways." U.S. Coast Guard spokesperson David Micallef said.

Harmony of the Seas is currently sailing on a 7-Night Eastern Caribbean cruise. The ship departed from Port Canaveral, Florida on Sunday, sailing to Philipsburg, St. Maarten; St Thomas, US Virgin Islands; Coco Cay, Bahamas before returning to Port Canaveral on February 6.

SpaceX's launch of the rocket Falcon 9 was called off in the countdown at T-minus 33 seconds from Cape Canaveral after the Coast Guard could not clear a cruise ship in time out of the rocket’s designated hazard area.