SpaceX scrubs launch, will try Wednesday to match Space Coast record
The Space Coast could see its 72nd launch of the year on Wednesday night equaling the total number of orbital missions flown in 2023.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 had been aiming for a Tuesday liftoff, but weather forced a scrub. It’s now targeting 5:47 p.m. Wednesday during a window that runs through 9:23 p.m. from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 with 23 Starlink satellites.
Space Launch Delta 45’s weather squadron forecasts an 80% chance for good launch conditions Wednesday night.
The first-stage booster for this mission is making its 18th flight with a planned recovery landing downrange on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
Including this mission, SpaceX will have flown all but five of the 72 launches from either Canaveral or neighboring Kennedy Space Center. Of those, 65 have been the workhorse Falcon 9 while Elon Musk’s company has only use two Falcon Heavy rockets this year.
United Launch Alliance has been responsible for the rest flying two of its new Vulcan Centaur rockets, two Atlas V’s and the final Delta IV Heavy.
Including California launches, SpaceX will have flown its Falcon family of rockets 101 times while also having launched three of its in-development Starship and Super Heavy rockets from its Texas test launch facility Starbase.
The company had indicated at the year’s beginning it was trying to average 12 launches a month, or 144 for the year.
Space Coast launches make up the majority of those, and SpaceX, more ULA and possibly the first ever launch of the Blue Origin New Glenn rocket could push the Space Coast launch total over 100.