Back with a sonic boom: SpaceX's first 2023 launch to feature Cape Canaveral landing

Jamie Groh, Florida Today
·2 min read
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Update: Liftoff of the Falcon 9 occurred at 9:56 a.m., Tuesday, Jan. 3, from Pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, with a successful landing a short time later at Landing Zone 1. Read our full post-launch story here.

After a slight break in launch activity over the holidays, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is set to host Florida's first launch and landing of the new year. A SpaceX Falcon 9 liftoff is planned for 9:56 a.m. ET Tuesday from Pad 40.

About eight and a half minutes after liftoff, the 230-foot Falcon 9 first-stage booster — flying for a record-tying 15th time — is expected to return for a landing attempt at Cape Canaveral's Landing Zone 1 bringing with it window-rattling sonic booms.

The mission is SpaceX's sixth for its Transporter program. The rideshare missions feature payload dispensers that host many small satellites. It's a way to split costs and make launching smaller satellites more affordable. Tuesday's mission features a total of 114 customer payloads that will deploy in similar orbits over the course of an hour and a half.

Over the weekend, forecasters with the U.S. Space Force predicted an 80% chance of "go" liftoff weather conditions. The only concerns are a slight chance of clouds and wind that could be dragged in ahead of a mid-week frontal system.

"Weather concerns for the primary launch attempt are the Cumulus Cloud Rule due to a chance for fast, onshore-moving Atlantic showers, as well as Liftoff Winds," forecasters said in a weekend report. Should SpaceX need a backup launch opportunity, it would be Wednesday, Jan. 4, around the same time. Weather conditions are expected to remain nearly the same.

Follow Florida Today's live coverage of Tuesday's Falcon 9 launch beginning 90 minutes before at https://www.floridatoday.com/space/.

For the latest, visit floridatoday.com/launchschedule.

Jamie Groh is a space reporter for Florida Today. You can contact her at JGroh@floridatoday.com. Follow her on Twitter at @AlteredJamie.

Launch Tuesday, January 3:

  • Company / Agency: SpaceX internal mission

  • Rocket: SpaceX Falcon 9

  • Location: Pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

  • Launch Time: 9:56 a.m. ET

  • Trajectory: Southeastern

  • Weather: 80% "go"

  • Landing: Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

  • Live coverage: Starts 90 minutes before liftoff at floridatoday.com/space

  • About: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the company's sixth Transporter mission featuring 114 payloads. The flights are designed to take dozens of payloads for a variety of customers to similar orbital locations.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: SpaceX Falcon 9 to launch from Cape Canaveral, expect sonic boom return