SpaceX targeting Sunday night for next Falcon 9 rocket launch from Cape Canaveral

SpaceX is targeting Sunday night for its next Falcon 9 rocket launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station — hours after a series of showers and thunderstorms should sweep off the Space Coast.

In fact, the Space Force's 45th Weather Squadron predicts 95% odds of "go for launch" weather conditions.

SpaceX announced the Starlink 6-43 launch is targeted for 7:05 p.m. EDT Sunday from Launch Complex 40, with backup opportunities available if needed until 11:03 p.m.

The Falcon 9 rocket will deploy another payload of 23 Starlink broadband satellites into low-Earth orbit, adding to SpaceX's growing constellation.

After stage separation, the Falcon 9 first-stage booster will target landing atop a SpaceX drone ship near The Bahamas. So Brevard County residents should not hear the sonic booms that accompany booster landings at the Space Force station.

The Space Coast's last Starlink mission took flight Monday night amid a National Weather Service dense fog advisory for northern Brevard County. Thick fog obscured views for photographers at the Cape — but spectators elsewhere enjoyed spectacular views as the rocket ascended along its southeasterly trajectory.

NWS meteorologists predict a strong cold front will generate showers and thunderstorms Saturday night and Sunday across Brevard. However, the Sunday night forecast calls for mostly cloudy skies, a low around 57, and north-northwest wind of 10 to 15 mph at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

The 45th Weather Squadron forecast said, "conditions look very favorable with a small chance for a cumulous cloud violation."

This week, the Space Force hosted a trio of public meetings collecting environmental comments on SpaceX's plan to convert Launch Complex 37 into a site for Starship-Super Heavy launch launches by 2026 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. SpaceX is also building large-scale Starship launch infrastructure at the pad 39A complex at Kennedy Space Center.

Looking ahead on the Cape's launch schedule, NASA's SpaceX CRS-30 cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station remains slated for liftoff no earlier than mid-March.

No target date has been set for the mission, which will send a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to dock with the ISS via a Falcon 9 from Launch Complex 40.

For FLORIDA TODAY Space Team mission updates leading up to Sunday's Starlink 6-43 liftoff, visit floridatoday.com/space about 90 minutes before the launch window opens.

Quelle: Florida Today

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Update: 11.03.2024

STARLINK MISSION

On Sunday, March 10 at 9:09 p.m. PT, Falcon 9 launched 23 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

This is the 17th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, DART, Transporter-7, Iridium OneWeb, SDA-0B, and now 12 Starlink missions.