Space Force: Weather iffy for SpaceX's Starlink launch from Cape Canaveral
Weather conditions are expected to be iffy for the Space Coast's next rocket launch, a SpaceX mission set to carry dozens of Starlink internet satellites to low-Earth orbit early Friday.
If schedules hold, teams at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Launch Complex 40 are set to host the launch of a Falcon 9 rocket during a three-and-a-half-hour window that opens at 12:26 a.m. EDT Friday, May 19. According to Space Force forecasters, conditions at the opening of the window will be 40% "go" but should improve to 60% "go" by the end.
"A late-season boundary is approaching northern Florida today, increasing the moisture andinstability over the peninsula. A similar setup is expected (Thursday)," Space Launch Delta 45 forecasters said Wednesday. "This will cause the convection to linger into the overnight hours Thursday into Friday, producing possible anvil, debris and cumulus cloud rule violations at the spaceport."
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If the mission, labeled Starlink 6-3, pushes to early Saturday, conditions would likely improve: 60% "go" at the opening of the window at 70% "go" by the end.
"Most guidance indicates the circulation center will move north through the day Friday, allowing any afternoon convection to dissipate by the backup opportunity’s launch window overnight Friday into Saturday," forecasters said.
Friday's early Starlink mission will mark the 24th of the year for the Space Coast and 84th dedicated to the internet constellation. Thousands of the flat-packed satellites operate about 340 miles above Earth's surface, delivering broadband internet to more than a million customers around the globe.
Beyond the Starlink launch, everything is proceeding as planned for the Sunday, May 21, launch of SpaceX and Axiom Space's Ax-2 mission. Flying from Kennedy Space Center's pad 39A at 5:37 p.m. EDT will be Peggy Whitson, John Shoffner, Ali AlQarni, and Rayyanah Barnawi. They will spend eight days docked with the International Space Station and help conduct a series of science experiments.
To follow live coverage of this mission, visit floridatoday.com/space an hour before launch. For more on upcoming launches, visit floridatoday.com/launchschedule.
Contact Emre Kelly at aekelly@floridatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @EmreKelly.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Space Force: Weather iffy for SpaceX's Starlink launch from Cape Canaveral
