The next SpaceX Falcon 9 Starlink launch is scheduled for Tuesday from the Cape
SpaceX Starlink mission 6-13
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the company’s latest batch of Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on August 31, 2023.
Florida today
Update: SpaceX crews are now targeting a Falcon 9 launch of 22 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit at 10:47 PM EDT on Tuesday, September 19. If necessary, four backup opportunities are available between 11:38 PM and 1:46 AM EST Wednesday, September 20.
Original story: SpaceX is targeting its next online Starlink space mission for liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station during a window extending from Tuesday night to Wednesday morning.
Although SpaceX has not yet confirmed the mission, navigational alerts indicate that the Falcon 9 is scheduled to fly from Launch Complex 40 during a 4-and-a-half-hour launch window scheduled from 9:47 p.m. to 2:18 a.m. EDT. United States on Wednesday.
The Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron pegs the odds of “launch” conditions at 60 percent for a potential launch.
“The most likely weather disturbance that will occur during the initial launch opportunity is cumulonimbus clouds associated with onshore moving rain,” the squadron forecast said.
Meteorologists at the National Weather Service station in Melbourne are forecasting a 60% chance of showers and thunderstorms Tuesday night at Space Force Station, with a low around 74 degrees, mostly cloudy skies, and an east-northeast wind of 5 to 10 mph. per hour.
Housed in the rocket’s protective nose cone for the Starlink 6-17 mission is another set of the company’s Internet broadcast satellites. After liftoff, the 230-foot-long rocket will follow a southeast trajectory along Florida’s Atlantic coast before targeting a first-stage booster that lands on a drone ship near the Bahamas.
If timelines hold, this will be the 50th Space Coast launch this year.
SpaceX’s Starlink constellation operates about 340 miles above Earth and provides nearly global internet service to hard-to-reach destinations and customers on every continent.
To date, the company has sent more than 5,000 flat satellites into orbit since dedicated missions first began in 2019.
When SpaceX’s Starlink 6-17 mission launches, follow FLORIDA TODAY’s space team’s live coverage starting 90 minutes before liftoff. For the latest schedule updates, visit floridatoday.com/launchschedule.
Rick Neale is FLORIDA TODAY’s South Brevard Watchdog reporter (For more of his stories, click here.) Contact Neale at 321-242-3638 or rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter/X: @Rick Neal1
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Launching on Tuesday, September 19
- Company/Agency: SpaceX internal mission.
- rocket: SpaceX Falcon 9.
- location: Launch of Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
- Launch window: 9:47 PM EST. Tuesday through 2:18 a.m. EST Wednesday.
- a path: southeast.
- weather: 60% chance of “launch” conditions.
- Landing: Drone ship – lack of gravity.
- Live coverage: Starts 90 minutes before takeoff at floridatoday.com/space.
- on: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the company’s latest batch of Starlink internet satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
