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Launch recap: Scroll down to review live coverage of the Monday, May 6, liftoff of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral on the Starlink 6-57 mission.
It’s a launch doubleheader today at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station — kicking off with a mid-afternoon SpaceX Falcon 9 liftoff!
Welcome to FLORIDA TODAY’s Space Team live coverage of today’s SpaceX Starlink 6-57 mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
SpaceX is now targeting 2:14 p.m. EDT — nearly two hours later than originally scheduled — to send up the Falcon 9 from Launch Complex 40. The Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron forecasts 90% odds of favorable weather.
The Falcon 9 will deploy a batch of Starlink internet satellites, which are packed inside the fairing atop the 230-foot rocket. No Central Florida sonic booms are expected. After soaring skyward along a southeasterly trajectory, the rocket’s first-stage booster will target landing aboard a SpaceX drone ship out at sea 8½ minutes after liftoff.
Then tonight, NASA and United Launch Alliance are targeting 10:34 p.m. to send astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore into space aboard an Atlas V rocket and Boeing’s Starliner capsule. The spacecraft will embark on its first crewed mission to the International Space Station.
Cape Canaveral:Is there a launch today? Upcoming SpaceX, NASA, ULA rocket launch schedule in Florida
SpaceX Falcon 9 booster lands
Update 2:22 p.m.: The Falcon 9 first-stage booster just landed aboard SpaceX’s drone ship Just Read the Instructions in the Atlantic Ocean, completing its 15th mission.
Liftoff!
Update 2:14 p.m.: SpaceX has just launched the Falcon 9 rocket carrying 23 Starlink satellites from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
SpaceX launch webcast begins
Update 2:10 p.m.: SpaceX’s launch webcast hosted on X (formerly Twitter) is now posted above, right below the countdown clock.
Liftoff is scheduled in four minutes from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
SpaceX countdown: 14 minutes to launch
Update 2 p.m.: Fourteen minutes before liftoff, it appears the SpaceX launch countdown is proceeding as planned.
SpaceX booster to land on drone ship
Update 1:50 p.m.: The Falcon 9 first-stage booster is poised to log its 15th flight, SpaceX reported.
This booster previously launched CRS-24, Eutelsat HOTBIRD 13F, OneWeb 1, SES-18 and SES-19 and 10 Starlink missions.
Following stage separation, the booster will target landing aboard SpaceX’s Just Read the Instructions drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.
SpaceX Falcon 9 fueling now underway
Update 1:40 p.m.: SpaceX officials just announced Falcon 9 rocket fueling is underway at Launch Complex 40.
That means this afternoon’s Starlink countdown is locked in to lift off at 2:14 p.m. without any delays, or else the launch must be postponed.
SpaceX: Weather in Florida ‘looking fantastic’
Update 1:34 p.m.: From a SpaceX tweet: “Less than an hour remaining in the count, all systems are ready and weather in Florida is looking fantastic for today’s @Starlink launch.”
SpaceX launch countdown reminder
Update 1:20 p.m.: We posted this list just before SpaceX pushed back today’s launch target time. So for those who missed it more than two hours ago, here are some key upcoming countdown events:
- 38 minutes: SpaceX launch director verifies “go” for propellant load.
- 35 minutes: Rocket-grade kerosene and first-stage liquid oxygen loading begins.
- 16 minutes: Second-stage liquid oxygen loading begins.
- 7 minutes: Falcon 9 begins engine chill prior to launch.
- 1 minute: Command flight computer begins final prelaunch checks; propellant tank pressurization to flight pressure begins.
- 45 seconds: SpaceX launch director verifies “go” for launch.
- 3 seconds: Engine controller commands engine ignition sequence to start.
- 0 seconds: Liftoff.
SpaceX countdown seeing good weather
Update 1:02 p.m.: This National Weather Service radar loop from the station at Melbourne Orlando International Airport shows no significant cloud cover over Cape Canaveral or East-Central Florida.
SpaceX launch to precede Boeing Starliner
Update 12:34 p.m.: SpaceX’s delayed liftoff time pushes the Starlink 6-57 mission back within 8 hours, 20 minutes of ULA’s 10:34 p.m. Boeing Starliner crewed launch.
Starliner’s Atlas V countdown kicked off about 11:15 a.m.
“Over the next few hours, final preps for the liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen systems will be performed, along with a test of the rocket’s guidance system and the first stage propulsion and hydraulic preps, internal battery checks and testing of the GPS Metric Tracking system used to follow the rocket as it flies downrange, plus a test of the S-band telemetry relay system,” a ULA blog post said.
Cape Canaveral seeing fair skies, light wind
Update 12:08 p.m.: A little more than two hours ahead of SpaceX’s new target launch time, the National Weather Service is reporting fair skies, a temperature of 84, and a 10 mph south wind at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Visibility is listed at 10 miles; the heat index is 86; and the forecast calls for a 20% chance of showers before 2 p.m.
SpaceX delays launch to 2:14 p.m.
Update 11:37 a.m.: SpaceX has announced the target liftoff time is now 2:14 p.m.
No reason has been publicly released.
SpaceX launch countdown timeline
Update 11:15 a.m.: Here’s a rundown of SpaceX’s upcoming Falcon 9 countdown timeline. T-minus:
- 38 minutes: SpaceX launch director verifies “go” for propellant load.
- 35 minutes: Rocket-grade kerosene and first-stage liquid oxygen loading begins.
- 16 minutes: Second-stage liquid oxygen loading begins.
- 7 minutes: Falcon 9 begins engine chill prior to launch.
- 1 minute: Command flight computer begins final prelaunch checks; propellant tank pressurization to flight pressure begins.
- 45 seconds: SpaceX launch director verifies “go” for launch.
- 3 seconds: Engine controller commands engine ignition sequence to start.
- 0 seconds: Liftoff.
SpaceX launch prep underway in Brevard
Update 10:50 a.m.: Brevard County Emergency Management officials have activated the agency’s launch operations support team ahead of SpaceX’s upcoming Falcon 9 launch.
SpaceX targeting Tuesday Starlink launch
Update 10:26 a.m.: Though SpaceX has yet to announce this mission, Federal Aviation Administration and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency navigational warnings show another Starlink launch window will open Tuesday morning.
That window will open less than 24 hours after today’s liftoff. More details:
- Mission: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a batch of Starlink internet satellites from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
- Launch window: 11:08 a.m. to 4:39 p.m.
- Location: Pad 39A.
- Trajectory: Southeast.
- Local sonic boom: No.
- Booster landing: Drone ship out on the Atlantic Ocean.
- Live coverage: Starts 90 minutes before liftoff at floridatoday.com/space.
Space Force launch forecast details
Update 10:03 a.m.: Details from the 45th Weather Squadron forecast, which predicts a 90% chance of “go for launch” weather:
“While the overall weather looks favorable for the initial and (Tuesday) backup launch windows, there is a small risk of cumulus cloud development with the budding afternoon sea breeze,” the forecast said.
“As a result, the only concern for both launch windows will be for the Cumulus Cloud Rule,” the forecast said.
Sunshine and low, puffy white clouds are dominating the sky here at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center press site.
For the latest news and launch schedule from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, visit floridatoday.com/space.
Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale atRneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1