Weather forces SpaceX to scrub launch and landing at Cape Canaveral; next attempt set

Emre Kelly, Florida Today
·2 min read

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Update (Saturday, Jan. 29):

SpaceX scrubbed this mission a third time Saturday due to weather around Launch Complex 40. Teams are now targeting 6:11 p.m. EST Sunday, Jan. 30, for the next attempt. Go here for live coverage starting 90 minutes before liftoff and see our constantly updated launch calendar here.

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Update (Friday, Jan. 28):

SpaceX scrubbed this mission a second time Friday due to weather, specifically thick clouds, above Launch Complex 40. Teams are now targeting 6:11 p.m. EST Saturday, Jan. 29, for the next attempt. Go here for live coverage starting 90 minutes before liftoff and see our launch schedule here.

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Original story:

Poor weather around Cape Canaveral Space Force Station forced SpaceX teams to stand down from a Falcon 9 launch on Thursday, causing a delay of at least 24 hours.

Despite a 60% "go" forecast and hope for conditions to clear close to the 6:11 p.m. EST liftoff time, visibility and overall conditions at the Cape remained poor throughout the countdown. SpaceX didn't bother fueling the rocket at the usual T-minus 35-minute mark.

Teams are looking at a 24-hour turnaround, but the forecast for Friday's attempt is almost identical: 60% "go" with a "moderate risk" posed by upper-level winds, according to the Space Force.

"For delay day, a deep upper level trough and associated cold front will dive into the southeastern U.S., switching the low-level winds from out of the northwest," Space Launch Delta 45 forecasters said Thursday. "Layered moisture associated with this system suggests the potential for thick clouds as well as scattered showers embedded within lower cumulus clouds."

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands ready for liftoff at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Launch Complex 40 with the COSMO-SkyMed-2 satellite on Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands ready for liftoff at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Launch Complex 40 with the COSMO-SkyMed-2 satellite on Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022.

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Friday's attempt will take an Italian Earth observation satellite, named COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation, from Launch Complex 40. The mission includes a first stage landing at the Cape's Landing Zone 1, so residents and spectators should be prepared for sonic booms about nine minutes after liftoff.

What this means for the planned Saturday launch of yet another Falcon 9 – this time with the company's 37th batch of Starlink internet satellites – remains to be seen. SpaceX has not confirmed the existence of the mission, but it's solidly on the Eastern Range's calendar regardless. Federal filings also confirm the company requested 3 p.m. Saturday for liftoff.

The schedule should become clearer if the Falcon 9 rocket rolls out to Kennedy Space Center's pad 39A sometime Friday. That mission will include a drone ship landing.

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.

Rocket launch on Friday, Jan. 28

  • Rocket: SpaceX Falcon 9

  • Mission: COSMO-SkyMed Earth observation satellite

  • Launch Time: 6:11 p.m. EST

  • Launch Window: To 6:17 p.m. EST

  • Trajectory: Southeast

  • Landing: Landing Zone 1

  • Weather: 60% "go"

Visit floridatoday.com/space at 4:30 p.m. EST Friday, Jan. 28, for live updates and video.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: SpaceX scrubs Falcon 9 launch, landing at Cape Canaveral due to weather