Tell HN: SpaceX Launch Scrubbed for Weather. Delayed for 3 days

23 pointsitsspring4 comments

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The use of word "Scrubbed" bothers me. Whats wrong with "Aborted"? Scrubbing is a mechanical action to remove something. "Aborted" or "Cancelled" is a more precise word. Not just the title of this thread, SpaceX themselves use the word "Scrubbed".

If I recall, there is a distinction. I believe aborted is a reserved term for mechanical or technical issues within last-minute launch sequence, while scrubbed is for unrelated issues (ie, weather).

The SpaceX spokesperson even accidentally said "aborted", but then correct himself to "scrubbed" immediately.

Thanks for the insight, so there is actual reasoning behind this distinction. Still a weird choice of a word, but I concede the original remarks. Similarly, the use of the word - "Scrapped" - why not "Discarded"?. Way better and more precise.

Reminds me of "Take off" vs "Departure" in commercial flights due to the mixup in some 1980's incident. Notice that they always use the word "Departure", as in - "Ready for departure", when communicating with the passengers but the ATC reserves the word "Take off" when instructing the pilots "Clear for take off".

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