What’s new: Scroll down for live coverage of Tuesday night’s scrubs of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch. The company later said winds at ground level were the cause.
Welcome to the FLORIDA TODAY space team. Tonight’s SpaceX Starlink 6-34 mission will be broadcast live from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
SpaceX is currently targeting a launch of its Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 40 at 11:39 p.m. ET.
However, there will be no Space Coast Launch doubleheader tonight. SpaceX has once again postponed its planned launch of a Falcon Heavy rocket carrying the secret Space Force X-37B orbital test vehicle to the next day. New target time: Wednesday 8:13 p.m.
Tonight’s Starlink mission is scheduled to be the record-extending 69th from the Space Coast this year. Falcon 9 will lift 23 Internet Beam satellites into low Earth orbit and fly them in a southeastern orbit.
The Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron forecast has a 65 percent chance of good weather.
Updated at 11:39 PM ET: SpaceX has canceled tonight’s launch of its Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
No official explanation has been published.
Updated at 11:34 PM 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 11:26 PM ET: Thirteen minutes before SpaceX’s scheduled Falcon 9 launch at 11:39 p.m., the countdown appears to be proceeding as planned.
Updated at 11:15pm ET: Refueling procedures are well underway at Launch Complex 40. Here is a list of key milestones in the upcoming countdown: T minus:
- 16 minutes: The second stage of liquid oxygen filling begins.
- 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 11:05pm EST: Refueling procedures for Falcon 9 are currently underway at Launch Complex 40.
“All systems and weather are currently prepared for launch,” SpaceX announced.
That means the Starlink 6-34 mission is scheduled to launch at 11:39 p.m., otherwise tonight’s launch would have to be postponed.
Updated at 10:50 PM ET: Space Florida, the state’s aerospace finance and development authority, touted Cape’s busy orbital launch schedule in a tweet this morning.
“Florida’s spaceport delivered approximately 1,918,600 pounds of payload into orbit in 2023,” SpaceFlorida’s tweet said.
“Orbital weight will likely reach 2 million pounds (by the end of the year),” the tweet said.
Updated at 10:30pm ET: SpaceX is currently targeting a launch date of 11:39 p.m.
This was 39 minutes later than the original launch target of 11 p.m.
Updated at 10:20pm EST: SpaceX just announced that it is postponing Wednesday night’s planned Falcon Heavy launch, which would put the Space Force X-37B orbital test vehicle into orbit for the USSF-52 mission.
Updated at 10:15pm ET: SpaceX reports that tonight’s mission will be the third flight for the Falcon 9 first stage booster, which previously launched the Crew-7 and CRS-29 missions.
more: NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 astronauts ready for mission to International Space Station
After the stage separates, the booster is scheduled to land on the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean 8 minutes and 28 seconds after liftoff.
Updated at 9:52am EST: SpaceX’s final Falcon 9 launch from the Cape took place early Thursday morning, marking the company’s 90th launch so far this year.
And on Friday, SpaceX launched another Falcon 9 on a Starlink mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Tonight’s mission increases SpaceX’s annual launch count to 92.
Updated at 9:37pm ET: SpaceX crews aborted Monday’s Falcon Heavy USSF-52 mission “due to ground-side issues,” but the vehicle and payload were intact, the company announced in a tweet.
“The additional time allows the team to complete system checkout prior to launch. The team is also keeping an eye on the weather, which is 40% favorable for launch,” a SpaceX tweet said this afternoon. Ta.
more: Double scrub! SpaceX withdraws from consecutive Falcon Heavy launches, Falcon 9 launches on Monday
For the latest launch schedule updates at the Cape, please visit: floridatoday.com/launchschedule.
rick neil He’s a space reporter for FLORIDA TODAY (for more of his story, go to click here.) Contact Neale at 321-242-3638 or rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1