SpaceX's plans for a midday Starlink mission launch from Cape Canaveral were abruptly scrubbed, leaving many in the space community wondering what caused the delay. But here's where it gets interesting: The launch was set to deliver a new batch of Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit, and while the reason for the scrub was not publicly announced, it seems the payload fairings with the 29 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites inside were late in arriving at the pad. And this is the part most people miss...
SpaceX is now targeting a launch on Friday, Jan. 9, during a window that opens at 1:03 p.m. EST (1803 UTC). The Falcon 9 rocket will fly on a south-easterly trajectory upon leaving the pad. So, what's the big deal? Well, the launch was set to be the 29th flight of the Falcon 9 booster with the tail number 1069, which has launched missions like CRS-24, Eutelsat Hotbird 13F, and 24 batches of Starlink satellites. And that's not all...
Nearly 8.5 minutes after liftoff, the booster will target a landing on the drone ship, 'A Shortfall of Gravitas,' positioned in the Atlantic Ocean to the east of The Bahamas. If successful, this will be the 138th landing on this vessel and the 556th booster landing for SpaceX to date. But there's a catch...
According to astronomer and expert orbital tracker Jonathan McDowell, there were more than 9,400 Starlink satellites in orbit as of Jan. 5. So, what does this mean for the future of space exploration? Will SpaceX be able to launch the Starlink satellites on Friday, or will there be another delay? And what does this mean for the future of space exploration in general? We'll have to wait and see...
Spaceflight Now will have live coverage beginning about an hour prior to liftoff. Meteorologists with the 45th Weather Squadron forecast a greater than 95 percent chance for favorable weather at liftoff on Thursday. Launch weather officers said there may be some off-shore rain showers, but they shouldn’t impact conditions at the pad. So, stay tuned...
