It’s launch day – for the second time in a row!
SpaceX teams have blocked a Falcon 9 rocket launch scheduled for Sunday evening as part of a Starlink mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
SpaceX is now targeting Monday, October 30th, 7:20 p.m. EDT as the new launch time.
If there are further delays, SpaceX said there are seven alternate launch options available on Monday from 7:52 p.m. to 10:22 p.m. EDT.
The Falcon 9 will deploy an array of 23 Starlink internet satellites housed in the payload fairing of the 230-foot-long rocket.
No local sonic booms are expected. After ascending into the sky along a southeastern trajectory, the rocket’s first booster stage is scheduled to land at sea aboard a drone ship about 8½ minutes after launch.
This Starlink mission marks the record-breaking 59th orbital launch this year from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Kennedy Space Center.
The previous annual record of 57 launches, set last year, was broken by SpaceX’s latest successful Starlink mission from Launch Complex 40 on October 21.
Additionally, this SpaceX launch attempt comes just days after the Defense Department’s secret plan to launch a hypersonic rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station failed.
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Space Force: 95% chance of good weather
The Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron estimates the probability of favorable launch weather at 95%.
“A surface ridge extends across the southeastern United States while a weak low pressure system slowly drifts northwest through the Bahamas,” the squadron’s forecast said.
“Little change in local weather is expected Monday, but by late Tuesday a cold front will move rapidly southeast out of the Tennessee Valley toward Florida,” the forecast said.
When is the next scheduled launch from Florida’s Space Coast?
NASA’s SpaceX CRS-29 mission – a cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station – is scheduled to launch on November 5 at 10:01 p.m. EDT. Quick facts:
- Rocket: SpaceX Falcon 9.
- Location: Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center.
- Trajectory: Northeast.
- Weather: Still open.
- Landing: Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
- Live broadcast: Begins 90 minutes prior to kickoff at floridatoday.com/space.
- Around: This is SpaceX’s 29th commercial resupply mission for NASA to the ISS. A Dragon cargo capsule will deliver new science, food, supplies and equipment to the international crew. The research includes laser communications and work to understand the interactions between Earth’s weather and space.
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Rick Neale is a space reporter for FLORIDA TODAY (see more of his stories at Click here.) Contact Neale at 321-242-3638 or [email protected]. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1
Source : www.usatoday.com