SpaceX still targeting this week for one of last launches before NASA's Artemis

Emre Kelly, Florida Today
·2 min read

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Update: SpaceX is now targeting 3:21 p.m. EDT Friday, Aug. 19, for this launch. Follow live here.

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SpaceX teams at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station are still targeting this week for the launch of more Starlink internet satellites, one of the last flights before a massive NASA rocket takes off to the moon.

A 230-foot Falcon 9 rocket is slated for liftoff at 3:24 p.m EDT Friday, the opening of an instantaneous window at Launch Complex 40. Weather for the launch, according the Space Force, improved slightly – from 40% "go" to 50% "go" – over the last forecast issued earlier this week.

"It is expected that there will be some showers and storms in the area during the window, likely just inland of the launch site," Space Launch Delta 45 forecasters said Thursday. "The main threats will be cumulus clouds and lightning associated with showers and storms in the vicinity, some which may drift back towards the launch site."

After liftoff and a flight toward the northeast, Falcon 9's first stage booster will try for a drone ship landing in the Atlantic Ocean. It should return to Port Canaveral a few days later.

More: NASA’s big gamble: Is new rocket too costly to launch us back to the moon?

More: NASA's Artemis I mega moon rocket rolls out to KSC launch pad

Friday's launch will mark the 56th for the Starlink internet constellation and 36th of the year for the Space Coast. SpaceX has launched more than 3,000 of the internet-beaming satellites so far.

One more Starlink mission could fly before the Space Coast's big show, but timelines are still tentative. All eyes are currently on a 322-foot NASA rocket at Kennedy Space Center's pad 39B, currently scheduled for liftoff of the uncrewed Artemis I mission at 8:33 a.m. EDT Monday, Aug. 29.

The rocket made the four-mile trek from the Vehicle Assembly Building to 39B late Tuesday into Wednesday. It will stay there until liftoff.

The Space Launch System rocket is the agency's main tool for taking astronauts to and from the moon. Artemis I is an uncrewed test flight; missions II and III will include astronauts with the latter shooting for a moon landing sometime after 2025.

For the latest, visit floridatoday.com/launchschedule.

Contact Emre Kelly at aekelly@floridatoday.com or 321-242-3715. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @EmreKelly.

Launch Friday, August 19

  • Rocket: SpaceX Falcon 9

  • Mission: 57th batch of Starlink internet satellites

  • Launch Window: 3:14 p.m. to 3:34 p.m. EDT

  • Launch Complex: 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

  • Launch Weather: 40% "go"

  • Trajectory: Northeast

  • Landing: Drone ship

  • Landing Weather: Low-risk

Visit floridatoday.com/space at 2 p.m. Friday, Aug. 19, for real-time updates and live video.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: SpaceX targeting this week for one of last launches before NASA Artemis