On Monday afternoon, SpaceX sent another Falcon 9 rocket soaring skyward amid sunshine and shimmering heatwaves at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
SpaceX’s Starlink 6-57 mission lifted off at 2:14 p.m. EDT — nearly two hours later than initially scheduled — from Launch Complex 40. The rocket propelled 23 broadband satellites into low Earth orbit on a southeast trajectory.
The Falcon 9 launched Monday 8 hours and 20 minutes before NASA astronauts Sonny Williams and Butch Wilmore were scheduled to lift off at 10:34 p.m. during their high-profile mission aboard Boeing’s Starliner capsule from nearby Launch Complex 41.
But instead, crews inspected the lead Starliner launch so the crew could evaluate the Centaur’s second stage oxygen relief valve.
Cape Canaveral:Is there a launch today? SpaceX, NASA, and ULA’s upcoming rocket launch schedule in Florida
The Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron forecast predicted a 90 percent chance of “liftoff” weather for the SpaceX Starlink mission on Monday, and conditions were good for liftoff.
SpaceX reported that the Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage marked its 15th flight. The booster has previously launched CRS-24, Eutelsat HOTBIRD 13F, OneWeb 1, SES-18, SES-19, and 10 Starlink missions. After stage separation, the booster landed on SpaceX’s Just Read the Instructions drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.
Looking ahead to Wednesday — though SpaceX has yet to make an announcement — FAA and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency navigational warnings show another Starlink launch window will open in the late morning.
Point details:
- a task: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch another batch of Starlink internet satellites from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
- Launch window: 10:42 AM to 3:13 PM
- location: Pad 39A.
- a path: southeast.
- Local sonic boom: no.
- Booster landing: Drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.
- Live coverage: Starts 90 minutes before takeoff at floridatoday.com/space.
For the latest news from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and KSC, visit floridatoday.com/space.
Rick Neil He is Florida Today’s space correspondent. Contact Neal on[email protected]. Twitter/X: @Rick Neal1
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