SpaceX is preparing for a Sunday morning Falcon 9 launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to fly more of its Starlink broadband internet satellites into low Earth orbit.
The Starlink 10-21 mission will be the 230th launch of the V2 Mini variety of its Starlink satellites. SpaceX’s is aiming for liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 during a launch window that opens at 10:05 a.m. EDT (1405 UTC).
Spaceflight Now will have live coverage beginning about an hour before liftoff.
The 45th Weather Squadron forecast a 85 percent chance for favorable weather at the opening of the window, but noted that it decreases to 70 percent favorability as the window progresses. The primary concern for meteorologists are cumulus clouds.
“By Sunday morning, the low off the coast lifts just north of the Spaceport, further unsettling the atmosphere,” launch weather officers wrote. “Additionally, a separate low-pressure system with associated frontal boundaries currently over south-central CONUS will move across the southeast further unsettling the atmosphere and injecting additional moisture into the area.”
SpaceX will launch this mission with one of its most flowing Falcon 9 boosters, tail number B1077. This will be its 24th flight with previous missions including Crew-5, CRS-28 and NG-20.
Nearly 8.5 minutes after liftoff, B1077 will target a landing on the drone ship, ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas’. If all goes well, this will be the 130th landing on this vessel and the 524th booster landing to date.
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