Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams arrived at the Cape in T-38 jets, the first such arrival since the space shuttle era. The mission is aiming to launch on Monday, May 6, at 10:34 p.m. EDT (0234 UTC).
NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3) will test materials and a deployable system for a solar sail-style propulsion system. Liftoff from New Zealand happened at 10:32 a.m. NZT on April 24 (6:32 p.m. EDT, 2232 UTC on April 23).
The mission comes a day after launching 23 Starlink satellites from Launch Complex 39A. Liftoff of the Starlink 6-52 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 happened at 6:40 p.m. EDT (2240 UTC).
With this launch, SpaceX is now one flight shy of tying the total number of Space Shuttle missions from this historic launch pad. This was the 81st flight of a Falcon rocket compared to the 82 total shuttle flights. Liftoff of the Starlink 6-51 mission happened at 5:26 p.m. EDT (2126 UTC).
The rollout operation on Tuesday followed a day of evaluations using Boeing’s weight and center-of-gravity machine to determine the final measurements on the spacecraft. Launch is still targeting May 6 at 10:34 p.m. EDT (0234 UTC).
SpaceX shattered multiple records Friday night as it launches 23 satellites for the company’s Starlink internet service from Cape Canaveral. A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 9:40 p.m. EDT (0140 UTC).
The USSF-62 mission will feature the first National Security Space Launch mission using flight-proven payload fairings. Liftoff from Vandenberg Space Force Base happened at 7:25 a.m. PDT (10:25 a.m. EDT (1425 UTC).
The mission came less than a day after SpaceX announced Albania as the latest country to gain access to the service. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 1:40 a.m. EDT (0540 UTC).
The issue with a gaseous nitrogen pipeline that caused the late March launch scrub was able to be resolved, according to NASA and its contractor, Air Liquide. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 37 occurred at 12:53 p.m. EDT (1653 UTC).