update information: Below is live coverage of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch on Saturday at 11pm EST..
Welcome to the FLORIDA TODAY space team. Tonight’s SpaceX Starlink 6-31 mission will be broadcast live from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
After postponing Friday night’s planned launch, SpaceX is now targeting 11 p.m. ET to launch its Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The Falcon 9 will deploy 23 Starlink Internet satellites packed inside a payload fairing atop the 230-foot rocket.
SpaceX announced that in the event of a delay, a backup launch opportunity will be available until 11:59 p.m. ET.
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.
SpaceX’s live webcast, hosted on X (formerly Twitter), will be posted at the top of this page when it becomes available approximately 5 minutes before launch.
Updated at 11:08pm ET: The Falcon 9’s first stage booster just completed its sixth mission, landing aboard SpaceX’s A Shortfall of Gravitas drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.
Updated at 11pm ET: SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 23 Starlink satellites from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Updated at 10:56 PM ET: SpaceX’s live launch webcast, hosted on X (formerly Twitter), is posted at the top of this page.
The launch is scheduled for four minutes from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Updated at 10:40 PM ET: Below is a list of key milestones in SpaceX’s 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 10:29pm EST: Visual clues indicate that Falcon 9 refueling procedures are currently underway at Launch Complex 40, but SpaceX has not yet made an official announcement.
That means SpaceX promises to attempt a launch at 11pm ET.
Updated at 10:08pm ET: In a positive sign for a possible launch, especially considering last night’s postponement, the Brevard County Emergency Management Authority has activated the agency’s Launch Operations Support Team in advance of the SpaceX mission.
SpaceX is still targeting a 11pm EST launch, with backup opportunities available until 11:59pm.
Updated at 9:51pm ET: The Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron is giving only a 40% chance of “launch-friendly” weather for tonight’s attempt, which is within the backup launch window. Meteorologists pointed to the risk of thick cloud layers, cumulus clouds and upper level wind shear.
“The weather scenario will begin to change on Friday as a mid-latitude low pressure system drags a cold front from the Mississippi River basin into the Deep South into the evening. Locally elevated moisture fronts will bring increased cloud cover and showers. “will bring the first launch window forecast Friday night,” the squadron’s forecast said.
“The weather scenario does not change significantly during the preliminary launch window Saturday night as the frontal boundary remains across the Deep South,” the forecast said.
As of 8:55 p.m. ET, the National Weather Service forecast called for a 20 percent chance of showers at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station by 10 p.m. Patchy fog should develop after 4am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy skies will prevail, with temperatures around 68 degrees and a west-southwest wind around 5 mph.
Updated at 9:33pm ET: On Friday, SpaceX’s Falcon first stage booster completed its 250th landing at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
The Korea 425 mission to low Earth orbit saw 25 different spacecraft launched aboard a rocket.
The Falcon 9 booster will fly its sixth mission before tonight’s launch from Cape Canaveral. This booster previously launched Crew-6, SES O3b mPOWER, and his three Starlink missions.
After the stages separate, the first stage will land on SpaceX’s A Shortfall of Gravitas drone ship, stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
more: Mysterious military X-37B spaceplane launches from Kennedy Space Center on Falcon Heavy
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