Check back for live FLORIDA TODAY Space Team launch updates on this page.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 booster arrives at Port Canaveral after an ocean accident
A badly damaged SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket capsized during cruises near Fishlips Waterfront Bar & Grill on Dec. 26 in Port Canaveral.
Welcome to FLORIDA TODAY's Space Team's live coverage of the SpaceX Starlink 6-37 mission tonight from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
SpaceX has pushed back its target liftoff time to 8:52 PM EDT to launch a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The Falcon 9 will deploy a constellation of 23 Starlink internet satellites, which are positioned within the fascia atop the 230-foot-tall rocket. The Space Force's 45th Weather Squadron estimates the chances of “take-off” weather at 80 percent, with thick cloud layers the primary danger.
SpaceX has not publicly announced why Saturday's Starlink 6-37 mission was initially postponed.
No local sonic booms are expected tonight. After soaring toward the sky along a southeast trajectory, the rocket's first-stage booster will aim to land on a drone ship at sea about 8 and a half minutes after liftoff.
When SpaceX's live webcast hosted on X (formerly Twitter) becomes available approximately five minutes before liftoff, it will be posted at the top of this page.
Update 8:40 p.m.: Twelve minutes before SpaceX's scheduled Falcon 9 launch at 8:52 p.m., the countdown appears to be going as planned. Refueling is still underway at Launch Complex 40.
As a reminder, here's a list of key upcoming countdown milestones. T minus:
- 7 minutes: The Falcon 9 begins engine cooling before launch.
- 1 minute: The flight command computer begins final pre-launch checks; The fuel tank pressure starts until it reaches cruising pressure.
- 45 seconds: SpaceX's launch director checks the “go” for the launch.
- 3 seconds: The engine control module controls the start of the engine ignition sequence.
- 0 seconds: Falcon taking off 9.
Update 8:34 p.m.: Tonight's mission marks the 12th flight of the Falcon 9 first stage booster, SpaceX said.
After stage separation, the booster is scheduled to land on the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean 8 minutes and 13 seconds after liftoff.
The booster has previously launched SES-22, ispace's HAKUTO-R Mission 1, Hispasat Amazonas Nexus mission, CRS-27, and seven Starlink missions, SpaceX reported.
Update 8:21 p.m.: Refueling procedures for the Falcon 9 rocket are now underway at Launch Complex 40, SpaceX has just announced.
This means tonight's Starlink 6-37 mission is now committed to liftoff at 8:52 p.m., otherwise the launch must be postponed.
Updated at 8:05 p.m.: On Wednesday, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch four European astronauts to the International Space Station aboard a Dragon capsule.
Axiom-3 mission details:
- Target launch: 5:11 pm
- location: Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center.
- Live coverage: Starts 90 minutes before takeoff at floridatoday.com/space.
Update 7:26 p.m.: SpaceX just announced that tonight's liftoff has been postponed again to 8:52 p.m
Additional backup opportunities are available until 11:25 p.m., if needed.
Update 7:15 p.m.: The National Weather Service radar loop shows a line of rain gradually tapering south from Cape Canaveral.
Update 6:48 p.m.: SpaceX crews have delayed tonight's target liftoff time from 7:27 to 8:05 p.m
Rain and heavy clouds prevailed for much of the afternoon and evening across the Space Coast.
For the latest launch schedule updates from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit the website floridatoday.com/launchschedule.
Rick Neil He is Florida Today's space correspondent (for more of his stories, click here.) Call Neale at 321-242-3638 or [email protected]. Twitter/X: @Rick Neal1
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