A Starlink launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral.
Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
SpaceX plans to launch Falcon 9 tomorrow from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral, carrying another group of Starlink satellites. According to SpaceX, “Liftoff is targeted for 8:35 a.m. ET, with additional opportunities available until 12:31 p.m. ET.”
The launch was initially scheduled for September 4th, but it was called off with about two minutes left in the countdown due to weather offshore, where the booster was slated to land.
Booster B1077 will be making its fifteenth flight on this mission. It has been in service since October 5, 2022, when it launched the Crew-5 mission, and last flew on July 28, when it flew Starlink 10-4. Landing will be offshore on ASDS ‘Just Read The Instructions.’ There will be no sonic boom in the Space Coast region.
At A Glance
Mission: Starlink 8-11
Date: NET September 5, 2024
Launch Window: 08:35 AM – 12:31 PM EDT*
Weather: 70% GO
Organization: SpaceX
Rocket: Falcon 9
Trajectory: Northeast
Launch Site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
Booster Landing: ASDS ‘Just Read The Instructions’
The payload for the mission is another group of Starlink satellites, which will join Group 8 of SpaceX/Starlink’s orbital constellation in low-Earth orbit. Starlink is an Internet service serving approximately 3.2 million customers in over 100 countries and territories globally.
Weather
The 45th Weather Squadron has called for a 30% Probability of Violation both Wednesday and Thursday, with the usual summer concerns: Cumulus Clouds and Anvil Clouds in the vicinity of the flight path of Falcon 9.
The forecast notes below that it has been rather wet and rainy the past few days on the Space Coast. That may be a cause for concern both Wednesday and Thursday as the conditions causing the rains will persist.
Trajectory
Tomorrow’s launch will take a familiar path: northeastwards. All Starlink Group 8 satellites have used the same trajectory, as have many other Starlink groups as SpaceX continues to add to the Starlink constellation.
SpaceX will have a livestream of the launch on their website: Starlink 8-11. This will also be available on the X platform. Coverage starts about fifteen minutes before liftoff.
Spaceflight Now will have coverage of the launch starting about one hour before liftoff on Youtube: link
For official updates regarding launch times, SpaceX.com is the best source of information. Starlink launch times change from time to time, and the company generally updates their website within minutes of the decision to change the launch time. This is very handy if none of the streaming options on YouTube have started their broadcasts.
Remember that there is a delay between a launch stream and the actual countdown clock. That is simply because of physics: it takes time for the signal to travel from the launch site, through the Internet, and back down to your phone, resulting in a five to fifteen-second delay.
Next Space Flight an app for iOS and Android phones, has a real-time countdown clock that is accurate to a second, give or take. The app is free. Search the App Store or Google Play. They are also on the web: nextspaceflight.com.
Launch Viewing: In Person
Since the launch is during the daytime, a lot of options are available for spectators: Jetty Park, the Banana River Bridge on FL 528 W or the southern Titusville parks on Washington Avenue / US-1 are your best bets.
Cocoa Beach or the Cocoa Beach Pier area is also very good, but ignition won’t be visible and it will take several seconds for the rocket to clear obstructions between the launch pad and viewers.
At this time, it does not appear that Kennedy Space Center Visitors Center is selling add-on tickets for the launch, but if the launch time is pushed backwards from the opening of the launch window at 08:59 AM EDT, visitors may be able to watch from the bleachers at the Banana Creek Viewing Site, located outside the Apollo/Saturn V Center at KSC. If you are interested in this option, it’s highly recommended that you call KSCVC to ensure that they will be offering launch viewing with a standard entry ticket.
SpaceX Starlink 8-10’s ascent as seen from Veteran’s Memorial Park in Titusville. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
SpaceX got right back to business early Saturday morning as it launched the Starlink 8-10 mission aboard Falcon 9 from Space Launch Complex 40 in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Liftoff was at 03:43 AM EDT, with Booster B1085 completing its first mission successfully 8:22 minutes later when it touched down offshore on ASDS ‘Just Read The Instructions.’ At 5:06 AM, SpaceX confirmed satellite deployment and the conclusion of another successful launch for the company.
Deployment of 21 @Starlink satellites launched from pad 40 in Florida confirmed
According to SpaceX, tonight’s payload was “21 Starlink satellites, including 13 with Direct to Cell capabilities, to low-Earth orbit.”
Starlink now has approximately 6300 active satellites in its expanding constellation, which serves over three million customers in over 100 countries and territories globally.
Launch Replay
Next Launch
This one is tricky: Polaris Dawn is vertical at LC-39A and is awaiting good weather prior to its start. SpaceX nor the Polaris Dawn program have announced the date for the next launch attempt, but one may be forthcoming at any time.
Otherwise, if Polaris Dawn does not launch by mid-week next week, SpaceX has the Starlink 8-11 mission penciled in for Wednesday, September 4th with a launch window between 08:59 AM and 12:59 AM EDT.
Starlink 8-10, close to Main Engine Cutoff on August 31, 2024 Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Booster B1062 comes to a firey end after its 23rd flight Photo: via SpaceX livestream
Fresh off of the delay of the Polaris Dawn’s 3:38 AM launch Wednesday morning, thanks to unfavorable weather in the abort zones, SpaceX made the decision to continue with the launch of Starlink mission 8-6, slated for launch at 3:48 AM. While the launch and deployment of the Starlink satellite payload went off without a hitch, it would not prove to be a great morning for SpaceX.
Booster Lost Due To Failed Landing
Despite the overall success of the primary mission, the record-breaking flight of Booster B1062 was marred when it failed to land safely on the droneship “A Shortfall of Gravitas” in the Atlantic Ocean.
Liftoff was at 03:48 AM EDT from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. While the primary mission objective—to deploy the Starlink satellites—was accomplished, the attempt to recover the booster did not go as planned. As the booster descended towards the droneship, a green flash was visible near the Merlin engines, followed by the booster toppling over and catching fire.
SpaceX confirmed the incident in an update posted on X.com shortly afterward.
After a successful ascent, Falcon 9's first stage booster tipped over following touchdown on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship. Teams are assessing the booster's flight data and status. This was the booster's 23rd launch.
The loss of the storied booster disappointed both SpaceX and the company’s growing ranks of followers. The reusability of the Falcon 9 first-stage boosters is a cornerstone of the company’s business model. Wednesday’s failure ends a streak of 267 consecutive successful booster landings. The last time SpaceX experienced a similar failure was on February 16, 2021, during the Starlink 19 v1.0 mission. On that occasion, the booster B1059 failed to land on the droneship “Of Course I Still Love You.”
Following the incident, SpaceX decided to stand down from what would have been the day’s third launch attempt, another Starlink mission from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California to evaluate the data from B1059. A new launch date for that mission has not yet been announced.
Launch Replay
Next Launch
With the failed landing of B1062, SpaceX has already delayed one launch from Vandenberg AFB in California while it evaluates what led to the failure and what remediations would be necessary. That makes the timeline of launches from Florida tenuous as well. While there has been no official announcement of launch dates for Polaris and the Starlink mission being set, it may take SpaceX several days to complete their analyses before their next launch.
That being said, Polaris Dawn is currently on the launch pad, awaiting weather improvements. That could come as early as Friday morning but do pay close attention to official announcements from SpaceX and the Polaris Dawn program regarding their next launch attempt.
SpaceX Falcon 9 launches from Space Launch Complex 40 at 09:20 AM EDT on August 20, 2024. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
SpaceX launched another tranche of Starlink satellites to orbit this morning from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40.
Liftoff was at 09:20 AM EDT, with Booster B1085 completing its first mission successfully 8:14 minutes later when it touched down offshore on ASDS ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas.’
B0185, whose maiden flight was originally slated for Crew 9, was moved up in SpaceX’s rotation to prove in the booster due to some water intrusion while it was being shipped from the company’s McGregor, Texas facilities. The flight was nominal, and the booster will not be returned to Port Canaveral and ultimately SpaceX’s ‘Hangar X’ facility where it will be inspected and refurbished with an eye towards using it for the Crew 9 flight late next month.
The second stage continued to orbit nominally, with SpaceX reporting several successful second stage burns that optimized the orbit for payload deployment.
Payload deploy of 22 @Starlink satellites confirmed
23 Starlink satellites. They will join Group 10 of SpaceX’s burgeoning Starlink’s constellation of Internet communication satellites. That service is used by over 3.1 million users in over 100 countries and territories worldwide.
Launch Replay
Next Launch
SpaceX will launch another group of Starlink satellites early in the morning on Friday from Space Launch Complex 40.
Date: NET August 23, 2024
Organization: SpaceX
Mission: Starlink 8-6
Rocket: Falcon 9
Launch Site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
Launch Window: 03:46 – 07:46 AM EDT
Payload: Starlink telecommunication satellites
Falcon 9 left two “smoke rings” as it ascended this morning. This one was the first. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of TitusvilleFalcon 9 left a pair of “smoke rings” as it cruised through the clouds over Cape Canaveral this morning. Photo: Charles Boyer, Talk of Titusville
Falcon 9 lifts off of Space Launch Complex 40 on August 15, 2024 carrying the Worldview 3 and Worldview 4 Earth-imaging satellites for Maxar. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
On a humid, hazy and thoroughly typical August morning in central Florida, SpaceX launched the WorldView 3 and WorldView 4 Earth-imaging satellites owned and operated by Maxar Corporation.
Liftoff was at the opening of the launch window at 09:00 AM EDT, with Booster B1076 completing its 16th mission successfully 7:48 minutes later when it touched down at Landing Zone 1, about six miles from where it had launched only minutes before. Moments later, a pair of sonic booms sounded the booster’s return.
Booster B1076 settling in to land after launching WorldView 3 and WorldView 4 from SLC-40. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
The second stage continued to orbit nominally, with SpaceX reporting several successful second stage burns that optimized the orbit for payload deployment.
Payload
Two Maxar WorldView Earth-observation satellites.
Graphic via Maxar
Launch Replay
Next Launch
It will be a quiet weekend at the Cape as no launches are scheduled until next Tuesday, August 20th when SpaceX will launch another tranche of Starlink satellites aboard Falcon 9. The launch will be from Space Launch Complex 40 and the window opens at 05:20 AM EDT.
Date: NET August 20, 2024
Organization: SpaceX
Mission: Starlink 10-5
Rocket: Falcon 9
Launch Site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
Launch Window: 05:20 – 09:20 AM EDT
Payload: Starlink telecommunication satellites
Falcon 9 just before Max-Q (the point of the atmosphere’s highest resistance) today over Florida. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
A Falcon 9 booster returning to land at Cape Canaveral Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
SpaceX plans to launch Falcon 9 carrying two Maxar Earth-observation satellites from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral tomorrow morning. The launch window opens at 09:00 AM EDT and closes at 12:00 PM the same day.
Booster B1076 has been assigned to the mission, and it will be making its 16th flight. This will be a Return To Landing Site Mission, meaning there will be a sonic boom heard across the Space Coast as the booster returns to land.
At A Glance
Mission: Legion Worldview 3 & 4
Date: NET August 11, 2024
Launch Window: 09:00 AM – 12:00 PM EDT*
Weather: 80% Go during the primary launch window
Organization: SpaceX
Rocket: Falcon 9
Trajectory: Northeast
Launch Site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
Booster Landing: LZ-1 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
The 45th Weather Squadron’s forecast has a 20% chance of a weather-related range violation, meaning that weather is 80% go. They do have concerns about cumulus clouds in the flight path as well as an additional risk of upper-level windshear.
All in all, this is a great forecast for July in Florida.
Via 45th Weather Squadron Retrieved 08/14/2024 3:00 PM
SpaceX will have a livestream of the launch on their website: Maxar 2 Mission. This will also be available on the X platform. Coverage starts about fifteen minutes before liftoff.
Spaceflight Now will have coverage of the launch starting about one hour before liftoff on Youtube: link
For official updates regarding launch times, SpaceX.com is the best source of information. Starlink launch times change from time to time, and the company generally updates their website within minutes of the decision to change the launch time. This is very handy if none of the streaming options on YouTube have started their broadcasts.
Remember that there is a delay between a launch stream and the actual countdown clock. That is simply because of physics: it takes time for the signal to travel from the launch site, through the Internet, and back down to your phone, resulting in a five to fifteen-second delay.
Next Space Flight an app for iOS and Android phones, has a real-time countdown clock that is accurate to a second, give or take. The app is free. Search the App Store or Google Play. They are also on the web: nextspaceflight.com.
Launch Viewing: In Person
If there is a launch that you really want to head to Jetty Park to see, this is one of them. While Jetty Park has an indirect view of liftoff (you won’t see the rocket until it clears the berm on the CCSFS side of the port) but you will get as good a view of the landing sequence as there is, on or off the base. Go early if you plan to view it from there, and then keep in mind that you must pay your entrance fee in advance.
Otherwise, the usual Space Launch Complex 40 viewing sites are quite good as well: the Banana River Bridge on FL 528W, Cocoa Beach, and the southern Titusville parks on Washington Avenue.
Keep in mind it will get progressively warmer as morning progresses, so be prepared with cold drinks, sunscreen and maybe even bug spray, just in case.
SpaceX has set the launch of another 23 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit aboard a Falcon 9 Monday morning from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. According to the company, “Liftoff is targeted for 7:30 a.m. ET, with backup opportunities available until 11:30 a.m. ET. If needed, additional opportunities are also available on Tuesday, May 28 starting at 7:30 a.m. ET.”
The booster used for the mission will land downrange on the droneship Automated Spaceport Drone Ship ‘Just Read The Instructions’, which will be on station northeast of The Bahamas. Since the mission is not a Return To Launch Site mission, there won’t be any sonic boom on the Space Coast.
Payload
23 Starlink satellites, to be used in SpaceX’s orbital-based Internet service.
They are manufactured at SpaceX’s Starlink manufacturing facility in Redmond, Washington, are estimated to weigh 750-800 kg apiece and are about 3.0 meters (9.84 feet) long and 1.3 meters (3.94 feet) wide at liftoff. When a Starlink Mini V2 extends its solar panels, it is an estimated 98.5 feet in diameter.
Starlink Satellites. Photo: SpaceX
Weather
Weather for the launch is again highly favorable, with 95% chances of acceptable weather in the start of the launch window, and slightly degrading to “only” 90% acceptable later in the day. If for some reason the launch doesn’t happen on Monday, the planned backup window is also good, but night quite as good as Monday: opening at a 90% chance of favorable range conditions, as Tuesday morning progresses, cumulus clouds drop the chances of acceptable weather at 85%.
In short, chances are very good that weather will not be a limiting factor for this mission.
These estimates are hit-or-miss and in any case are highly local, but are interesting if you are planning to view the launch in person.
Graphic: National Weather Service
Trajectory
Falcon 9 will take a southeasterly direction tonight towards The Bahamas, as is customary for all Group 6 Starlink missions. Spectators looking toward the Atlantic Ocean from shore will see the rocket flying left to right.
Given that the flight is immediately offshore with no return to launch site, there will be no sonic boom from the launch on the Space Coast.
Booster
According to SpaceX’s Starlink 6-60 Mission page, “This is the 10th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Crew-6, SES O3b mPOWER, USSF-124, and six Starlink missions.”
That’s Booster B078, which last flew late last month on the Starlink 6-53 mission.
Booster B1078
Flight Number
Payload
Date
1
Crew-6
March 2, 2023
2
O3b mPOWER 3 & 4
April 28, 2023
3
Starlink 6-4
June 4, 2023
4
Starlink 6-8
August 7, 2023
5
Starlink 6-16
September 16, 2023
6
Starlink 6-31
December 3, 2023
7
USSF-124
February 14, 2024
8
Starlink 6-46
March 25, 2024
9
Starlink 6-53
April 23, 2024
Booster B1078 as of April 23, 2024
Countdown Timeline
There are key events in the countdown that you may hear called out in launch coverage.
Remember that once Propellant Loading (T-minus thirty-eight minutes) starts, Falcon 9 is committed to the launch attempt. Because of the nature of the cryogenic fuels used to power the rockets, any hold precludes a later launch attempt the same day. While it only rarely happens, there have been occasions where that has happened, and a launch scrub is called for the day’s attempt.
SpaceX provides the following countdown milestones on their mission information page:
Hours:Minutes:Seconds
Event
00:38:00
SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for propellant load
00:35:00
RP-1 (rocket grade kerosene) loading begins
00:35:00
1st stage LOX (liquid oxygen) loading begins
00:16:00
2nd stage LOX loading begins
00:07:00
Falcon 9 begins engine chill prior to launch
00:01:00
Command flight computer to begin final prelaunch checks
00:01:00
Propellant tank pressurization to flight pressure begins
00:00:45
SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for launch
00:00:03
Engine controller commands engine ignition sequence to start
00:00:00
Falcon 9 liftoff
Typical SpaceX countdown timeline is presented for information purposes only.
Timeline of Falcon 9 Flight
SpaceX has published a timeline of expected events during the mission:
Hours:Minutes:Seconds
Event
00:00:00
Liftoff
00:01:11
Max-Q (Moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket)
00:02:26
1st stage main engine cutoff (MECO)
00:02:30
1st and 2nd stages separate
00:02:36
2nd stage engine starts (SES-1)
00:02:56
Fairing deployment
00:06:09
1st stage entry burn begins
00:06:33
1st stage entry burn ends
00:07:59
1st stage landing burn begins
00:08:22
1st stage landing
00:08:41
2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO-1)
00:54:08
2nd stage engine starts (SES-2)
00:54:10
2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO-2)
01:05:17
Starlink satellites deploy
via: SpaceX
All events up to the end of the 1st stage entry burn should be visible for launch spectators watching the launch in person, so long as clouds are not blocking the viewer’s line of sight. Fairing separation is generally only visible during daytime launches and then only using advanced optics like high-powered binoculars or a super-telephoto lens (500mm+).
SpaceX will have a livestream of the launch on their website: Starlink 6-60 This will also be available on the X platform. Coverage starts about five minutes before liftoff.
Spaceflight Now will have coverage of the launch starting about one hour before liftoff on Youtube: link
For official updates regarding launch times, SpaceX.com is the best source of information. Starlink launch times change from time to time, and the company generally updates their website within minutes of the decision to change the launch time. This is very handy if none of the streaming options on YouTube have started their broadcasts.
Remember that there is a delay between a launch stream and the actual countdown clock. That is simply because of physics: it takes time for the signal to travel from the launch site, through the Internet, and back down to your phone, resulting in a five to fifteen-second delay.
Space Launch Schedule, an app for iOS and Android phones, has a real-time countdown clock that is accurate to a second, give or take. The app is free. Search the App Store or Google Play.
Launch Viewing: In Person
This morning’s planned launch is from SLC-40, on the south side of the Eastern Range (KSC and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station combined.) The southern parks in Titusville on Washington Avenue and FL-528/A1A in Cape Canaveral are the best spots to watch liftoff directly.
Given the early hours of the launch window (7:30AM – 11:30AM EDT) these restaurants may not be open for launch viewing. Later in the day, all three may well be, so if you are interested, be sure to call ahead to make sure they’ll be ready to serve you.
The Space Bar ($$$) – atop the Courtyard Marriott near Kennedy Parkway
New York New York ($$) – on the Indian River with an outdoor seating area. Is family-friendly.
Shiloh’s ($$$) — located on the Indian River with an outdoor deck overlooking KSC/CCSFS
Indirect Views
There are several excellent viewing spots for SLC-40 launches that offer indirect views — meaning you won’t see the rocket until it clears obstructions such as trees, buildings, even a storm berm in one case.
Parking fees (probably). Pay with your smartphone on the parking app. There are signs everywhere telling you how.
Further away, but still good views.
Northern Titusville Parks
Further away, but really nice views.
Playalinda Beach
View From Playalinda Beach Photo: Charles Boyer / ToT
Playalinda Beach out on the Cape Canaveral National Seashore will be open to spectators, that is, if KSC Security and the National Park Service allow viewers for the launch. It opens to visitors at 6 AM.
This varies from launch to launch, but as a general rule, they have allowed spectators to watch Starlink launches from the beach. A now-dwindling brush fire near Beach Roadmay affect Playalinda plans, so call ahead to be sure.
Cape Canaveral National Seashore • Playalinda Beach Phone: (386) 428-3384 x0 Current operating hours: 6:00 AM–8:00 PM
If you are going to Playalinda, and if it is open, remember these general tips. Some may not apply to this particular launch.
Get there at least two hours early, or better, earlier than that. Lines are long at the entry gate and they will only allow as many spectator vehicles as there are parking space available.
If the launch L-0 time is moved to after 8PM, you must leave Playalinda, as the National Park Service is very strict about closing hours.
Cape Canaveral National Seashore has a fee to get in and cash is not accepted. Debit and credit cards are okay, or if you have one of the National Park Service’s passes for the Seashore or the National Parks, that will work as well.
Cellphone service is spotty at best and often non-existent at Playalinda. Don’t count on your cellphone to keep up with the launch; you might get a signal, or you might not.
You are not allowed to view from the pullouts on Beach Road. Stanchions will block them. You’ll have to park and go to the beach.
Refreshments are not available. There are no stores at Cape Canaveral National Seashore, so you’ll need to bring drinks and food if you want any while you’re there.
Rangers will keep you back a certain distance from the launch area on the beach. Even if the beach is open, you’ll still be unable to go down to the fence that demarcates the normal security zone. There’s a line that spectators can’t go past somewhat north of the fence. That’s for safety and security.
Be prepared for potential changes or pushbacks in the launch schedule, and keep up by monitoring the live stream links mentioned above.
Keep up with launch news and other space events that affect the local area by subscribing to alerts when we publish a new article by entering your email at the link at the bottom of this page, or by visiting Space Talk here on the website. It’s free, and you can cancel at any time.
SpaceX will launch another 23 Starlink Mini V2 satellites in the later evening hours tonight from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The launch window opens at 10:33 PM EDT and extends to 2:33 AM EDT Thursday. The booster used for the mission will land downrange on the droneship ASDS ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas’, so there will not be a sonic boom on the Space Coast tonight.
Payload
23 Starlink satellites, to be used in SpaceX’s orbital-based Internet service. They are manufactured at SpaceX’s Starlink manufacturing facility in Redmond, Washington.
Tonight’s forecast is as good as it gets this time of year on the Space Coast: the 45th Weather Squadron of the US Space Force has forecast only a 5% chance of a weather-related range violation (POV), meaning that they expect a 95% chance for acceptable weather through the launch window. The same forecast remains effectively the same should technical reasons delay tonight’s launch: a 5% POV with a 95% chance of acceptable conditions on the range.
The 45th provides a good description of conditions in their forecast discussion: “East-northeasterly winds are expected today around an area of low pressure to the east of Florida that will continue to drift farther east through the day. With the onshore flow, a few showers or a storm may move across the Spaceport at times, with the highest chances midday with the development of the east coast sea breeze. As this feature moves farther out to sea on Wednesday, it will pull in drier air that will limit shower and storm chances along the coast for mid-week.”
Sky Cover
The National Weather Center forecasts that roughly 15% of the sky will be covered by clouds during the launch window. These estimates are often hit-or-miss and are highly local, but are interesting if you are planning to view the launch in person.
Trajectory
Falcon 9 will take a southeasterly direction tonight, as is customary for Group 6 Starlink missions.
Given that the flight is immediately offshore with no return to launch site, there will be no sonic boom from the launch on the Space Coast.
Booster: B-1080
According to SpaceX on the official mission page, the booster used tonight will be on its eighth mission: “This is the eighth flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched ESA Euclid, Ax-2, Ax-3, CRS-30, and three Starlink missions.”
That’s B-1080, which last flew on April 18th.
Booster B-1080, launching Starlink 6-52 on April 18th. Photo: Charles Boyer / ToT
Booster B1080
Flight Number
Mission
Date
1
Axiom-2
May 21, 2023
2
Euclid
July 1, 2023
3
Starlink 6-11
August 27 2023
4
Starlink 6-24
October 22, 2023
5
Axiom-3
January 18, 2024
6
CRS-30
March 21, 2024
7
Starlink 6-52
April 18, 2024
Booster B1080 Flight Record as of April 18, 2024
Countdown Timeline
There are key events in the countdown that you may hear called out in launch coverage.
Remember that once Propellant Loading (T-minus thirty-eight minutes) starts, Falcon 9 is committed to the launch attempt. Because of the nature of the cryogenic fuels used to power the rockets, any hold precludes a later launch attempt the same day. While it only rarely happens, there have been occasions where that has happened, and a launch scrub is called for the day’s attempt.
SpaceX provides the following countdown milestones on their mission information page:
Hours:Minutes:Seconds
Event
00:38:00
SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for propellant load
00:35:00
RP-1 (rocket grade kerosene) loading begins
00:35:00
1st stage LOX (liquid oxygen) loading begins
00:16:00
2nd stage LOX loading begins
00:07:00
Falcon 9 begins engine chill prior to launch
00:01:00
Command flight computer to begin final prelaunch checks
00:01:00
Propellant tank pressurization to flight pressure begins
00:00:45
SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for launch
00:00:03
Engine controller commands engine ignition sequence to start
00:00:00
Falcon 9 liftoff
Typical SpaceX countdown timeline is presented for information purposes only.
Timeline of Falcon 9 Flight
SpaceX has published a timeline of expected events during the mission:
Hours:Minutes:Seconds
Event
00:00:00
Liftoff
00:01:11
Max-Q (Moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket)
00:02:26
1st stage main engine cutoff (MECO)
00:02:30
1st and 2nd stages separate
00:02:36
2nd stage engine starts (SES-1)
00:02:56
Fairing deployment
00:06:09
1st stage entry burn begins
00:06:33
1st stage entry burn ends
00:07:59
1st stage landing burn begins
00:08:22
1st stage landing
00:08:41
2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO-1)
00:54:08
2nd stage engine starts (SES-2)
00:54:10
2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO-2)
01:05:17
Starlink satellites deploy
via: SpaceX
All events up to the end of the 1st stage entry burn should be visible for launch spectators watching the launch in person, so long as clouds are not blocking the viewer’s line of sight. Fairing separation is generally only visible during daytime launches and then only using advanced optics like high-powered binoculars or a super-telephoto lens (500mm+).
SpaceX will have a livestream of the launch on their website: Starlink 6-62 This will also be available on the X platform. Coverage starts about five minutes before liftoff.
Spaceflight Now will have coverage of the launch starting about one hour before liftoff on Youtube: link
For official updates regarding launch times, SpaceX.com is the best source of information. Starlink launch times change from time to time, and the company generally updates their website within minutes of the decision to change the launch time. This is very handy if none of the streaming options on YouTube have started their broadcasts.
Remember that there is a delay between a launch stream and the actual countdown clock. That is simply because of physics: it takes time for the signal to travel from the launch site, through the Internet, and back down to your phone, resulting in a five to fifteen-second delay.
Space Launch Schedule, an app for iOS and Android phones, has a real-time countdown clock that is accurate to a second, give or take. The app is free. Search the App Store or Google Play.
Launch Viewing: In Person
This evening’s planned launch is from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral, which means that the best direct views of liftoff are:
Given the late hour of the launch, most local businesses will be closed for the night. Space Bar may still be open for the beginning of the launch window. Call ahead if you are interested in viewing from there to be sure.
The Space Bar ($$$) – atop the Courtyard Marriott near Kennedy Parkway
New York New York ($$) – on the Indian River with an outdoor seating area. Is family-friendly.
Shiloh’s ($$$) — located on the Indian River with an outdoor deck overlooking KSC/CCSFS
Other Viewing Locations
Cocoa Beach, Cocoa Beach Pier, Jetty Park Pier will have indirect views, meaning that liftoff will not be visible, but after the rocket clears the pad and any ground obstructions, you will be able to see Falcon 9 ascending clearly assuming there are no clouds between you and the rocket.
Be prepared for potential changes or pushbacks in the launch schedule, and keep up by monitoring the live stream links mentioned above.
Jetty Park will be closed at the time of the launch, but viewers can walk up the beach to the area.
Keep up with launch news and other space events that affect the local area by subscribing to alerts when we publish a new article by entering your email at the link at the bottom of this page, or by visiting Space Talk here on the website. It’s free and you can unsubscribe at any time
Falcon 9 lifts from the Eastern Range’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in 2024. Photo: Charles Boyer / ToT
One does not have to work in the space industry to know that the Eastern Range is a very busy place these days. Less than ten years ago, the gaps between rocket launches were often measured in weeks or months. For example, in 2016, there were 23 launches from the Space Coast, and only 16 in 2017.
Today, in 2024, there are often two or more orbital launches per week and sometimes as many as two in one day from the combined facilities of Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. There were 73 launches from here in 2023, and as many as 111 could happen this year. As such, bottlenecks and competing priorities for launch times and resources are rising, leading Congress to possibly instruct the US Space Force to consider offloading some national security launches to other sites.
The House Armed Services Committee’s draft fiscal 2025 defense policy bill has an interesting requirement: to study the possibility of launching NSSL (national security) payloads from other ranges than Vandenberg SFB and Cape Canaveral SFS as soon as 2025. Remember that this is a draft of the bill in committee and that it has a long way to go before it becomes law if, indeed, Congress and the current Administration can agree on a budget in the first place.
Spaceports in the United States
There are some twenty spaceport-designated facilities in the US today. Only five of them are capable of supporting vertical rocket launches: the Eastern (Cape Canaveral / KSC) and Western (Vandenberg SFB) Ranges, Alaska’s Pacific Spaceport Complex, Spaceport America near southeast of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, and the combined areas of Wallops Island — Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport and Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. That in mind, the House committee’s draft bill says those sites must be considered for additional NSSL launches.
Western Range / Vandenberg SFB
SpaceX launch from Vandenberg Photo: SpaceX
SpaceX and United Launch Alliance already use this facility for many launches, with the frequency of those launches expected to rise drastically over the next few years. SpaceX plans to launch 90 rockets into space from the Western Range by 2026, while ULA is working towards certification of the once-launched Vulcan for national security payloads that would include the Western Range as a launch point.
According to many reports, those plans—especially the SpaceX plans—are running into local opposition. The California Coastal Commission, a powerful agency in the State of California, and other environmental groups have questioned whether the planned increase should be allowed. This is an ongoing issue with no resolution in the foreseeable future.
Wallops Island
Rocket Lab Electron launching from Wallops Island Photo: Charles Boyer / ToT
Wallops Island is an active spaceport where Rocket Lab and Northrup Grumman have conducted orbital launches in recent years. Rocket Lab is building a new launch pad for its future Neutron reusable rocket. NG is working with Firefly Aerospace to create a new variant of the Antares rocket it inherited from its acquisition of Orbital Sciences in 2018. That rocket is set to fly as soon as 2025.
Wallops makes logical sense for additional NSSL work, especially when Neutron and Antares enter service. They also have the land to develop new launch pads for new customers, giving that site great growth potential.
Pacific Spaceport Complex, Alaska
Despite PSCA having the largest launch azimuth range of any spaceport in the US that can access high-inclination, polar, and sun-synchronous orbits between 59° and 110° inclination, the Pacific Spaceport Complex has been mainly a development site for startups — ABL and Astra have been its main users the past few years, to mixed results. Previous users have included Northrup Grumman, but the aerospace giant has not launched from the facility since 2011.
The site opened in 1998 and has hosted 31 launches. It has hosted Athena I, Minotaur IV, Astra Rocket, and the RS1 rockets, with one successfully orbiting: on 19 November 2021, Astra’s LV0007 rocket achieved orbit.
That may be partly due to the facility being in Alaska and the cool local climate: located near the Bering Sea, Kodiak summers are short and mostly cloudy, and winters are long, very cold, wet, windy, and partly cloudy. Rocket launches depend on calm weather with no rain or high winds at launch time, and there, PCSA may struggle even compared to the infamously capricious weather on the Eastern Range.
Adding to PCSA’s difficulties is its remote nature with little infrastructure in the region. No rail service connected to the mainland or interstate highways leaves air shipment and the seaport at Kodiak as the major shipping options available to PCSA.
Nevertheless, Kodiak could easily become an area that supports NSSL launches during seasons when the weather allows for them. The Alaska Aerospace Corporation, a corporation owned by the state Government of Alaska, has been working diligently to attract new clients to its facilities, and in many ways, PCSA ticks many boxes for becoming a larger player in the launch business.
Spaceport America
With cities like Amarillo, Lubbock and even Dallas / Ft. Worth to the east and Albequerque to the north, orbital launches from Spaceport America seem to be a long way away.
Spaceport America is interesting because it has not been the launch site for any orbital attempts since its inception in 2011. The site in southern New Mexico is landlocked, meaning that early flight would be over land and possibly people and populated areas, leaving persons and property potentially exposed to the aftermath of a launch failure—namely, components from the rocket crashing down on them or potentially unburned toxic propellants descending from a failed rocket.
Virgin Galactic is a tenant at Spaceport America. Photo: Virgin Galactic
“I’m disappointed in is that the Space Force and others are very focused on the Cape and Vandenberg and Wallops,” said Scott McLaughlin, executive director of Spaceport America, in an interview published in February 24th by spacenews.com. “There’s no emphasis on making launches safe enough to fly over humans. I think that’s a natural progression and it just doesn’t seem to be on anybody’s radar right now.”
Currently, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 has 99.4% success rate, with 343 full successes out of 345 launches over 14 years of service. One failure was during static fire testing, and probably should not be counted, given the rocket never left the launch pad. The one in-flight failure Falcon 9 did have was explosive, meaning that shrapnel and uncombusted fuel from the second stage and payload were not contained and fell into the sea after the launch failure.
That would naturally be a major concern for everyone downrange, and while the chances of another failure happening are quite remote, clearing Falcon 9 for overland flight would be a major political sticking point with an uncertain path to approval — especially when safer areas like the Eastern Range, Western Range, Kodiak and Wallops do not have those worries.
Other rockets, like the soon-to-be-retired Atlas V and the once-flown Vulcan (both United Launch Alliance products), also do not have any contingencies for launch failures over populated areas other than to self-destruct before such an event occurs. The same is true for Firefly Aerospace’s Alpha rocket. Nor does New Glenn, Blue Origin’s long-awaited orbital rocket.
In short, no modern rocket in the West is designed to have the capability to fly over populated areas safely, meaning that barring a political sea change or technological advances not yet on the drawing boards, Spaceport America is likely to be many years, if not a decade or more, away from supporting orbital flight.
RIP Spaceport Camden
Camden, Georgia, was an area considered by NASA in the late 1950s and early 1960s when it sought to build the facility that eventually became the Kennedy Space Center, and civic boosters and entrepreneurs have worked to make Camden a working launch site since that time.
After it accepted an Environmental Impact Statement, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a launch site operator license for Spaceport Camden with a flight trajectory limited to a 100-degree azimuth. It was planned to be a vertical launch facility, but voters scuttled the idea in 2022 in a spending referendum, effectively ending the current efforts to bring the area only as a potential orbital rocket spaceport. For now, Spaceport Camden as an option is dead.
The “800 Lb. Gorilla” Not Mentioned
Interestingly, the House committee did not mention another active spaceport as a potential site for NSSL launches: SpaceX’s facility at Boca Chica, Texas, where it is currently building and testing its huge Starship Heavy rocket.
SpaceX has conducted suborbital test launches from Boca Chica, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Once Starship becomes operational, it could easily support NSSL launches from Boca Chica, so long as the supported azimuths from the facility match the mission profile of the payload. SpaceX could even add a Falcon 9 / Falcon Heavy launch pad to the site if it had the mind to and enough land to work with. This does not appear to be the case at this time, and perhaps that is the reason the House committee did not mention Boca Chica.
Azimith Limited: Two paths from Boca Chica would would avoid overflight of most far downrange landmasses, though they may also require performance reducing “dogleg” maneuvers to avoid other landmasses and achieve proper orbit. The red areas show previous Falcon 9 drop zones. Cape Canaveral can accommodate a much more diverse set of launch inclinations without overflying populated areas.
A Falcon 9 Liftoff As Seen from the Banana River Bridge on FL 528W Near Port Canaveral Photo: Charles Boyer / ToT
Monday may bring another doubleheader to the Space Coast tomorrow, albeit from two different companies flying off adjacent pads roughly ten hours apart: the long-awaited Starliner CFT mission, of course, but also another SpaceX Falcon 9 mission to add to its Starlink constellation earlier in the day.
The launch window for the SpaceX mission from Space Launch Complex 40 opens at 12:36 PM EDT and extends until 2:48 PM the same day. Should the launch not occur, SpaceX says “If needed, additional opportunities are also available on Tuesday, May 7 starting at 11:08 a.m. ET.”
11:15 AM EDT Update: SpaceX now says, “Liftoff is targeted for 2:14 p.m. ET, with backup opportunities available until 2:48 p.m. ET. If needed, additional opportunities are also available on Tuesday, May 7 starting at 11:08 a.m. ET.
Around eight and half minutes after liftoff, the first stage is planned to touch down on one of SpaceX’s three automated barges, this time ‘Just Read The Instructions’ which will be positioned downrange in the Atlantic Oceen to await the returning booster.
Payload
Another 23 Starlink V2 Mini satellites for the Starlink constellation. Each satellite weighs approximately 800 kg (~1764 pounds.)
Starlink Mini V2 Satellites stacked atop each other prior to launch. Photo: SpaceX
Weather
The 45th Weather Squadron is forecasting a 10% chance of creating a Range Violation Monday afternoon, meaning an 90% chance of acceptable conditions. On Tuesday, should a scub occur, conditions remain essentially the same.
Sky Cover
The National Weather Service is calling for cloud cover of about 30-35% tomorrow afternoon at the opening of the launch window. The launch should be visible to spectators, but the rocket may be blocked by clouds from time to time during ascent.
Trajectory
Rinse, lather, repeat: Starlink Group 6 missions have flown a southeastern trajectory thus far, and tomorrow is no different:
Booster: B1069
Booster B1069 will be flying its fifteen mission. It has been in service since December 21, 2021 when it flew the CRS-24 ISS cargo/resupply mission. Since then, it has launched Eutelsat HOTBIRD 13F, OneWeb 1, SES-18 and SES-19, and 10 Starlink missions.
B1069
May 5, 2024
Flight
Mission
Launch Date
1
CRS-24
December 21, 2021
2
Starlink 4-23
August 28, 2022
3
Hotbird 13F
October 15, 2022
4
OneWeb 15
December 8, 2022
5
Starlink 5-3
February 2, 2023
6
SES 18 & 19
March 17, 2023
7
Starlink 5-6
May 4, 2023
8
Starlink 5-12
June 23, 2023
9
Starlink 6-9
August 11, 2023
10
Starlink 6-19
September 30, 2023
11
Starlink 6-28
November 18, 2023
12
Starlink 6-36
December 29, 2023
13
Starlink 6-39
February 25, 2024
14
Starlink 6-47
April 5, 2024
As of May 5, 2024
Landing
Per SpaceX, “Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the ‘Just Read The Instructions droneship’, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.”
After touching down on ‘Just Read The Instructions’, the booster will be returned to Port Canveral after a few days, where it will be offloaded and transported to SpaceX’s Hangar X facility at Kennedy Space Center, where it will be inspected, refurbished and possibly prepared for another next flight.
SpaceX will have a livestream of the launch on their website: Starlink 6-57 This will also be available on the X platform. Coverage starts about five minutes before liftoff.
Spaceflight Now will have coverage of the launch starting about one hour before liftoff on Youtube: link
Playalinda Beach on the Cape Canaveral National Seashore should be open, but keep in mind that this launch is at Space Launch Complex 40, and it is further away than LC-39A. Still, it will have great views. If you are planning to go there, plan to arrive at least two hours early and keep in mind that CCNS has an entrance fee. No cash accepted, so bring you debit or credit card.
Cocoa Beach, Jetty Park and other area beaches should have good views as well once Falcon 9 clears any ground obstructions in your line of sight.
Be prepared for potential changes or pushbacks in the launch schedule, and keep up by monitoring the live stream links mentioned above.
Challenges For A South Texas Spaceport.pdf
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