Welcome to the FLORIDA TODAY space team. We’ll be broadcasting tonight’s SpaceX Starlink 6-30 mission live from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
SpaceX plans to launch a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station with a target time of 11:20 p.m. ET.
The Falcon 9 will deploy 23 Starlink Internet satellites packed inside a payload fairing atop the 230-foot rocket.
Localized sonic booms are not expected. The rocket’s first stage booster will aim to land on a drone ship at sea eight and a half minutes after liftoff, after rising skyward along a southeastern trajectory.
Updated at 11:15pm ET: SpaceX’s live launch webcast, hosted on X (formerly Twitter), is posted at the top of this page.
The launch is scheduled to take place within five minutes from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Updated at 11:05pm EST: Fifteen minutes before SpaceX’s scheduled Falcon 9 launch at 11:20 p.m. ET, the countdown appears to be on schedule. Refueling is progressing smoothly at Launch Complex 40.
As a reminder, here is a list of key milestones in the upcoming countdown. T minus:
- 7 minutes: Falcon 9 will begin cooling its engines before launch.
- 1 minute: The command flight computer begins final pre-launch checks. Pressurization of the propellant tank to flight pressure begins.
- 45 seconds: SpaceX’s launch director verifies the “go” for launch.
- 3 seconds: The engine controller commands the initiation of the engine ignition sequence.
- 0 seconds: Falcon 9 launch.
Updated at 10:58pm EST: SpaceX hasn’t announced it yet, but a National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency navigation alert indicates Cape Canaveral’s next launch window will begin late Friday night and extend 4 1/2 hours into early Saturday morning. .
This upcoming launch period will begin on Friday at 11:00 PM EST and extend until 3:31 AM on Saturday. These times reflect tonight’s Starlink 6-30 mission times.
Updated at 10:46 PM ET: “All systems and weather are currently being prepared for launch,” SpaceX officials said in a tweet, announcing that refueling procedures for Falcon 9 had just begun at Launch Complex 40. .
That means tonight’s Starlink 6-30 mission is set to launch at 11:20 PM ET, otherwise the launch will have to be postponed.
A fully fueled Falcon 9 carries more than 1 million pounds of propellant, and the rocket can burn through within three minutes of liftoff.
Updated at 10:33pm ET: Tonight’s mission will be the 17th flight of the Falcon 9 first stage booster, SpaceX reports.
After stage separation, the booster is scheduled to land on the Just Read the Instructions drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean 8 minutes and 27 seconds after liftoff.
Updated at 10:12pm (EST): Skies at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station are cloudy and the temperature is 57 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
Winds are blowing out of the northwest at 5 mph with visibility up to 16 miles.
Updated at 9:52am EST: SpaceX officials did not publicly confirm tonight’s Starlink launch attempt on X (formerly Twitter) until 8:16 p.m. ET, just over three hours before the 11:20 p.m. launch target.
In its launch forecast, the Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron predicted a 90% chance of “go to launch” weather early in tonight’s time frame, with cold, dry air coming in from the northwest as the night progresses. It is assumed that this will decrease to 80% when
“(Sunday), models indicate that the extent and thickness of these upper-level clouds will likely increase as the window progresses. Once the base is low enough, this becomes a concern for the thick cloud layer rule. ,” the forecast says.
“However, because these clouds are associated with jet streams rather than thunderstorms, the rules are more lenient in allowing standards to be lowered without triggering violations,” the forecast said.
For the latest schedule updates at the Cape, please visit: floridatoday.com/launchschedule.
Rick Neal is FLORIDA TODAY’s space reporter (for more of his story click here.) Contact Neale at 321-242-3638 or rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1