SpaceX was rushing to prepare its Falcon 9 rocket for flight from Cape Canaveral Tuesday night as launch preparations fell behind schedule. The launch of the batch of 23 Starlink satellites is currently scheduled for Wednesday at 2:27 a.m. EST (7:27 UTC).
The Starlink 6-29 mission was originally targeted for Tuesday night at 11:01 PM ET (0401 UTC), but SpaceX postponed the launch to 1:47 AM ET (0647 UTC) However, it was later postponed to 2:27 a.m. ET (7:27 UTC). There will be two more launch opportunities Wednesday morning, with the last one scheduled for 2:59 a.m. ET (7:59 UTC).
The Falcon 9 rocket lifted upright at Space Launch Complex 40 shortly before 10pm ET (3am UTC), much later than expected. The previous mission from Pad 40 was launched just four days ago, so if current launch times hold, this will be the seventh fastest turnaround attempt for the launch facility.
Meteorologists with the U.S. Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron said Monday’s weather conditions were 90 percent favorable at the first opportunity, with the probability dropping slightly to 75 percent by the end of the launch period.
After taking off from Cape Canaveral, Falcon 9 heads toward a southeasterly orbit, aiming for an orbit tilted 43 degrees to the equator. After burning nine Merlin 1D engines for nearly two and a half minutes, the first stage separated from the second stage and continued its descent, landing approximately 424 miles (682 km) on the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean. do. ) from the launch site.
Meanwhile, aloft, the second stage’s single vacuum Merlin engine burns for about six minutes as it reaches parking orbit. After coasting for about 45 minutes, the second stage engine reignites and he burns for two seconds, adjusting his trajectory. Deployment of the 23 V2 Mini Starlink satellites will occur approximately 1 hour and 5 minutes after launch.
This is SpaceX’s 87th orbital launch this year and the 276th flight of its Falcon 9 rocket to date.
Spaceflight Now’s live coverage of the launch will begin approximately one hour before liftoff. Also, the launch pad live stream allows him to see what’s going on at the Cape’s launch pad 24 hours a day, seven days a week.