Live coverage: SpaceX supply ship returns to Earth

SpaceX raised a Falcon 9 rocket vertical Tuesday on pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, positioning the launch vehicle for a flight Wednesday carrying 57 more Starlink Internet satellites and two commercial Earth-imaging microsatellites for BlackSky.

The Starlink 12-9 mission was SpaceX’s 10th dedicated flight supporting the launch of its Starlink V2 Mini satellites. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is set for 2:18 p.m. EST (1918 UTC).

The astronauts assigned to fly SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft beginning later this year said Friday they are excited for the capsule’s first orbital mission set for launch Saturday, but significant work remains before the ship is cleared to carry people.