"We're Going To Space... And Government Is NOT Invited"

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SpaceX has postponed the blastoff and attempted Cape Canaveral landing of its upgraded Falcon 9 rocket for twenty-four hours.

Today could mark a historic first in space travel if Elon Musk's firm can successfully drop the reusable rocket on land. Previous attempts to land the Falcon 9 blaster have always been at sea, on a purpose-made platform.

The rocket was due to blast off at 8.29pm ET on Sunday, but SpaceX decided to go for the second launch opportunity at 8.33pm ET today instead.

The mission's primary objective is to get a fleet of commercial communications satellites into orbit for US firm ORBCOMM. But once that job is done, the secondary aim of the launch is to test Falcon 9's ability to land at what the company is calling Landing Zone 1.

Modifications to the Falcon 9 rocket. (Credit: SpaceX)

The location, which is leased by SpaceX, was previously known as Space Launch Complex 13, but more commonly as Cape Canaveral, and was used by the US Air Force up until 1978 to test rockets and missiles.

Folks who live nearby in Florida in areas like Merritt Island, Rockledge and Scottsmoor are likely to hear a sonic boom when the Falcon 9 re-enters Earth's atmosphere for its landing, much like when the Space Shuttles used to return home.