This morning marks the second consecutive SpaceX Falcon 9 launch attempt from the Space Coast. Will the rocket fly after Wednesday’s late countdown?
Stay tuned. SpaceX is targeting 8:35 a.m. EDT to launch the Falcon 9 from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The 230-foot-tall Falcon 9 will carry 21 Starlink internet satellites — 13 of which have direct-to-cell communications capabilities — into low-Earth orbit.
Should there be any delays, backup launch opportunities for this Starlink 8-11 mission are available until 12:31 p.m., SpaceX said. No sonic booms are expected in central Florida. After a northeasterly flight, the rocket’s first-stage booster will land aboard a SpaceX drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean nearly 8½ minutes after launch.
However, SpaceX called off Wednesday’s launch attempt due to unfavorable weather conditions for booster retrieval at sea — with the Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron warning of a low to moderate risk of poor conditions. Overall, the squadron’s forecast calls for 75% of weather conditions to be “go for launch” early in the launch window, dropping to 60% by late morning.
Check this page for live updates on the FLORIDA TODAY Space Team launch, beginning approximately 90 minutes before the start of the launch window. When SpaceX’s live webcast, hosted on X (formerly Twitter), becomes available approximately five minutes before launch, it will be posted below the countdown clock.
Cape Canaveral: Is There a Launch Today? Upcoming SpaceX, NASA Rocket Launch Schedule from Florida
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For the latest news and launch schedules from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, visit floridatoday.com/space.
Rick Neale is a space reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at Rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1
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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: SpaceX rocket launch today: What to know before launch from the Cape
