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Month: October 2023

SpaceX set for Cape Canaveral launch Sunday night

SpaceX set for Cape Canaveral launch Sunday night

SpaceX last week pushed the Space Coast to a new record for launches on the year, and is set up to keep adding to that total with plans for a Sunday night liftoff.

A Falcon 9 with another 23 Starlink satellites is set to lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 targeting 7:45 p.m., with seven backup options from 8:17 p.m. to 10:47 p.m. and another eight chances during a Monday night window from 7:20 p.m. to 10:22 p.m.

Space Launch Delta 45’s weather squadron gives the Sunday night window an 85% chance for good conditions, which improves to 90% in the event of a 24-hour delay.

The first-stage booster is making its eighth flight with a planned recovery landing downrange on the droneship Just Read the Instructions in the Atlantic.

SpaceX airs live coverage of the launch and landing of its first-stage booster on its X profile, no longer with commentary and only going live about five minutes before liftoff.

The launch would be the 59th of the year from either Canaveral or neighboring Kennedy Space Center. A launch last Saturday from the same launch pad marked Florida’s 58th liftoff of the year surpassing 2022’s record of 57. SpaceX has had the king’s share of those responsible for all but four of the launches, with three coming from United Launch Alliance and one from Relativity Space. read more