Update Dec. 15, 4:45 p.m. EST (2145 UTC): SpaceX delayed the launch to NET Wednesday, Dec. 17
SpaceX delayed the launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to Wednesday after originally targeting a liftoff on Monday. The Starlink 6-99 mission will add another 29 Starlink V2 Mini satellites to SpaceX’s broadband internet constellation in low Earth orbit.
SpaceX did not offer an explanation for the two days of delay. Liftoff winds were expected to be an issue at the opening of the original launch window on Monday. In addition, booster recovery weather was listed as a low to moderate risk. When it does launch, the Falcon 9 rocket will fly on a south-easterly trajectory upon leaving Florida’s Space Coast.
Liftoff is now planned for no sooner than 7:19 a.m. EST (1219 UTC) on Wednesday. Spaceflight Now will have live coverage beginning about an hour prior to liftoff.
SpaceX will launch the mission using the Falcon 9 booster with the tail number 1094. This will be its sixth flight following the launches of missions like Crew-11, Ax-4 and Cygnus NG-23.
Nearly 8.5 minutes after liftoff, B1094 will target an autonomous landing on the drone ship, ‘Just Read the Instructions,’ positioned in the Atlantic Ocean to the east of the Bahamas. This will be the 146th landing on this vessel and the 552nd booster landing to date for SpaceX.
