Weather should be excellent for the early morning launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station early Sunday, a mission that will take more Starlink internet satellites to orbit.
If conditions hold, Space Force forecasters on Friday said the 230-foot rocket should face 90% "go" weather around Launch Complex 40 for the long liftoff window that runs from 4:16 a.m. to 8:19 a.m. EDT.
"Though convection will generally end within an hour or two of sunset, leftover clouds may linger into the overnight hours. This will be the case late Saturday night leading into the primary launch attempt early Sunday morning," Space Launch Delta 45 forecasters said. "However, given the time of morning, lingering clouds are expected to be limited with overall quiet weather concerns for launch as offshore flow keeps most nocturnal showers offshore."
In the event of a 24-hour scrub, conditions dip a bit to 60% "go" at the opening of the window but improve back to 90% "go" by the end.
Rocket launch schedule: Upcoming Florida launches and landings
This mission, known as Starlink 6-5, will include a drone ship landing in the Atlantic Ocean, so no local sonic booms this time. It will mark the Space Coast's 34th launch of the year.
SpaceX has so far launched nearly 5,000 Starlink internet satellites and secured more than 1.5 million customers ranging from airlines to residential users. The company will still need to launch thousands more in the coming years to keep up with orbital decay, malfunctioning spacecraft, and expansion of the network's bandwidth demands.
SpaceX is also expected to host the rest of the month's launches. More Starlink batches should fly from the Cape, but a three-core Falcon Heavy rocket is also slated to boost a classified Space Force mission from Kennedy Space Center before the end of July. Firmer timelines are expected soon.
For the latest, visit floridatoday.com/launchschedule.
Contact Emre Kelly at aekelly@floridatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @EmreKelly.
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