Space Force: Weather iffy for SpaceX's Starlink launch from Cape Canaveral

Weather conditions are expected to be iffy for the Space Coast's next rocket launch, a SpaceX mission set to carry dozens of Starlink internet satellites to low-Earth orbit early Friday.

If schedules hold, teams at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Launch Complex 40 are set to host the launch of a Falcon 9 rocket during a three-and-a-half-hour window that opens at 12:26 a.m. EDT Friday, May 19. According to Space Force forecasters, conditions at the opening of the window will be 40% "go" but should improve to 60% "go" by the end.

"A late-season boundary is approaching northern Florida today, increasing the moisture andinstability over the peninsula. A similar setup is expected (Thursday)," Space Launch Delta 45 forecasters said Wednesday. "This will cause the convection to linger into the overnight hours Thursday into Friday, producing possible anvil, debris and cumulus cloud rule violations at the spaceport."

If the mission, labeled Starlink 6-3, pushes to early Saturday, conditions would likely improve: 60% "go" at the opening of the window at 70% "go" by the end.

"Most guidance indicates the circulation center will move north through the day Friday, allowing any afternoon convection to dissipate by the backup opportunity’s launch window overnight Friday into Saturday," forecasters said.

Die frühe Starlink-Mission am Freitag markiert den 24. des Jahres für die Weltraumküste und den 84., der der Internetkonstellation gewidmet ist. Tausende der flach verpackten Satelliten operieren etwa 340 Meilen über der Erdoberfläche und versorgen mehr als eine Million Kunden auf der ganzen Welt mit Breitband-Internet.

Quelle: Florida Today

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Update: 19.05.2023

Start von SpaceX’s 80th Starlink mission and 81th Starlink

SpaceX is targeting Friday, May 19 at 12:41 a.m. ET (04:41 UTC) for a Falcon 9 launch of 22 second-generation Starlinksatellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. If needed, there are additional launch opportunities the same day at 1:31 a.m. ET (05:31 UTC), 2:19 a.m. ET (06:19 UTC), and 3:09 a.m. ET (07:09 UTC). Backup opportunities are also available Saturday, May 20 at 12:27 a.m. ET (04:27 UTC), 1:06 a.m. ET (05:06 UTC), 2:02 a.m. ET (06:02 UTC), and 2:48 a.m. ET (06:48 UTC).

The first stage booster supporting this mission previously launched CRS-26, OneWeb Launch 16, Intelsat IS-40e, and one Starlink mission. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.