Limits on some general aviation operations at 12 airports
Limits on some visual flight rule approaches at facilities with staffing triggers
Limits on commercial space launches and reentries to the hours between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. local time
Limits on parachute operations and photo missions near facilities with staffing triggers
Only three days earlier, on November 13, the FAA had “made permanent” the rules it rescinded yesterday.
“Today’s decision to rescind the order reflects the steady decline in staffing concerns across the NAS and allows us to return to normal operations,” said FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford. “I am grateful for the hard work of the FAA safety and operations teams and for their focus on the safety of the traveling public.”
Good News For SpaceX Especially
The rescission of the emergency order is good news for all launch services companies, but especially for SpaceX. They have a high cadence of Starlink launches on both coasts, and while they usually launch in the late hours of the evening or early hours overnight, there are many times when orbital mechanics demand a launch between 6am and 10pm — the hours formerly restricted.
Tomorrow’s Starlink launch, for example. The launch window opens at 6:29 PM ET, and extends until 10:29 PM ET the same day. While SpaceX could have waited until 10 PM to launch Starlink 6-94, they would undoubtedly prefer to have the ability launch earlier legally.
Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 6-94 — Go for Launch!
Organization
SpaceX
Location
Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Rocket
Falcon 9
Pad
Space Launch Complex 40
Status
Go for Launch
Status Info
Current T-0 confirmed by official or reliable sources.
Window Opens
Tuesday, 11/18/2025 6:29:00 PM
Window Closes
Tuesday, 11/18/2025 10:29:00 PM
Destination
Low Earth Orbit
Mission Description
A batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation – SpaceX’s project
for space-based Internet communication system.
Now that the federal shutdown is over, the FAA has issued a new Emergency Order that replaces the one issued November 7th. This new order makes the limitation on the hours during which commercial space launches can occur more or less permanent, stating that it will be “continuing until this Order is cancelled”.
Background
On November 7, 2025 the FAA issued an emergency order to impose operating limitations on U.S. airspace to protect safety of the national air‐traffic system, due to staffing and other disruptions in air traffic control centers. This new November 12 order cancels and replaces that November 7 order. It took effect at 6AM this morning.
Effect On Space
Under section IV.b.3 of the Order: For commercial space launches and re‑entries, beginning November 13, 2025 at 6:00 a.m. EST and until further notice, the FAA is ordering that commercial space launches and re‑entries will only be permitted between 10:00 PM and 6:00 AM local time.
This is justified by the FAA as necessary “to accommodate reduced ATC services” and “ensure the safety of aircraft and the efficient use of airspace” in a time of stress for the system.
From a policy perspective, this event might raise questions within the industry: Will the FAA lift or modify this restriction once staffing/ATC stability improves? The document states the FAA will continue to monitor and may amend the order. How resilient is the air traffic control system as commercial space operations ramp up? Should space launches have separate contingency mechanisms? Does the field need more dedicated corridor management to reduce the impact of conventional aviation staffing issues on daytime launches? And most importantly, who would pay for all of those changes, if they were made?
For the time being, commercial space operators may have fewer launch windows, more schedule uncertainty, and potential added costs that will almost certainly be passed on to their customers.
Starlink 12-18 lifts off on February 18, 2025 Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
The Federal Aviation Administration has issued an emergency order restricting commercial space launches and reentries to overnight hours only, a move that will significantly impact operations here on the Eastern Range.
Effective November 10, 2025, the FAA will prohibit commercial spaceflight activity between 6:00 am and 10:00 pm. local time, citing air traffic controller staffing shortages and growing concerns about strain on the National Airspace System (NAS).
The decision is part of a broader set of temporary limitations designed to reduce pressure on the country’s aviation infrastructure during the federal shutdown.
Section IV.b. — Prohibition on Commercial Space Launches and Reentries During Peak Hours
“Accordingly, with respect to commercial space launches and reentries, under the authority provided to the FAA Administrator by 49 U.S.C. §§ 40103, 40113, and 46105(c), and authority delegated to the FAA Administrator under 51 U.S.C. § 50909(a), it is hereby ordered that, beginning at 6:00 a.m. EST on November 10, 2025, and until this Order is cancelled, commercial space launches and reentries will only be permitted between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. local time.”
— FAA Emergency Order, November 6, 2025
Immediate Impact On The Cape
The FAA’s emergency order may impact several upcoming missions. That depends on the mission’s classification—whether it is purely commercial in nature or conducted under federal contract on behalf of a federal agency. Here are our unconfirmed educated guesses:
ViaSat-3, a commercial communications satellite operated by ViaSat Inc. and launched by ULA aboard Atlas V, is clearly affected. As a fully commercial mission, it falls under the FAA’s order and cannot be launched between 6 am and 10 pm without a waiver. Any future ViaSat launches will need to comply with the restricted launch window until the order is lifted.
ViaSat-3 has no launch date as of the time of this writing after two scrubs in the past two days.
NG-2 ESCAPADE, the NASA science mission destined for Mars, is launching aboard Blue Origin’s New Glenn as soon as Sunday afternoon. As a federally funded deep space mission on a contracted launch on a commercial rocket, ESCAPADE will likely be granted priority treatment and probably would not be subject to the commercial launch restriction should the launch get delayed from its current planned launch on Sunday afternoon.
Northrop Grumman’s NG-2 mission occupies a more complex position. It is part of NASA’s Commercial Resupply program to ISS,. While the launch vehicle is commercial, the mission itself is flown under a NASA contract. That government link will probably allow it to proceed during restricted hours.
Starlink flights are directly impacted. SpaceX launches these missions for its own broadband satellite constellation and are entirely commercial in nature. As such, they must be scheduled during the FAA’s permitted overnight launch window unless an exception is granted. SpaceX has already been mostly launching Starlink at night, so the limitation may affect them less than one might think. Project Kuiper, the same: it is a commercial enterprise flying on a commercially contracted mission. That means overnight until further notice.
Timelapse of Falcon 9 lofting Starlink 6-81 from Cape Canaveral on November 5 Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
On a rare night when two different companies were set to launch hours apart from adjacent launch pads, SpaceX launched Starlink 6-81 from Space Launch Complex 40 at 8:31 pm ET. Falcon 9 flew on a southeasterly trajectory, and completed a trouble-free mission that saw the company deploy another 29 Starlink satellites into the megaconstellation now in low Earth Orbit.
Next up was United Launch Alliance, with the venerable Atlas V on the pad at Space Launch Complex 41. It was set to lift off at 10:24 pm ET, but it was not to be. Everything looked fine until it didn’t, and despite the effort of ULA engineers to solve an issue with a sticky valve, the launch was “Scrubbed […] due to an issue encountered while cycling the booster liquid oxygen tank vent valve during final checkouts.”
ULA added in a statement to the press that “The team will require additional time for troubleshooting and is setting up for a 24-hour recycle.
“The launch is now planned for Thursday Nov. 6th at 10:16 p.m. ET at the opening of a 44-minute window.”
SpaceX Payload
Tonight’s payload for Falcon 9 was 29 Starlink satellites that will now join the other Starlink satellites from Group 6 in the Starlink constellation.
That array of satellites provides Internet connectivity globally to over seven million customers in over 125 countries and territories, spanning all seven continents.
SpaceX Launch Replay
Next Launch
Atlas V 551 | ViaSat-3 F2 (ViaSat-3 EMEA)
Organization
United Launch Alliance
Location
Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Rocket
Atlas V 551
Pad
Space Launch Complex 41
Status
Go for Launch
Status Info
Current T-0 confirmed by official or reliable sources.
Window Opens
Thursday, 11 / 06 / 2025 10:16 PM
Window Closes
Thursday, 11 / 06 / 2025 11:00 PM
Destination
Geostationary Transfer Orbit
Mission Description
The ViaSat-3 is a series of three Ka-band satellites expected to provide very high service speed and flexibility; each ViaSat-3 class satellite targets >1 Tbps of network capacity and can dynamically direct capacity to where customers are located.
As of 12:00 AM Thursday November 6, 2025. Launch assignments and times are subject to change or cancellation at any time. Consult
ULA.com for updates.
Atlas V ViaSat 3 on the launch mount at SLC-41 Wednesday, November 5, 2025 Photo’: Charles Boyer, Talk of TitusvilleLiftoff of Starlink 6-81 from SLC-40 on November 5, 2025 Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
United Launch Alliance provided this photo of Viasat 3 being stacked for launch in Cape Canaveral.
United Launch Alliance is set to fly their last commercial payload on an Atlas V (* other than Project Kuiper) this week from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The payload is ViaSat-3 — or VS-3 F2 in ViaSat parlance — is a telecommunications satellite that the company expects to more than double the bandwidth capacity of their entire existing fleet. The launch is currently scheduled for 10:24 PM EST on Wednesday, November 5th.
Spaceport Canaveral Is Quite Busy
SpaceX also has a Starlink launch scheduled for Wednesday, but will likely yield the Eastern Range to ULA for their launch if ULA is ready to proceed. Stay tuned — it sounds like Wednesday will have a rocket launch of some kind, whether it be a Falcon 9 or an Atlas V.
Meanwhile, south of ULA and SpaceX’s launch complexes, Blue Origin continues to prepare New Glenn for its planned launch next week. It’s hard to recall a time when this many different rockets from different companies are all heading to the pad to launch in the space of only a few days.
At A Glance
Atlas V 551 | ViaSat-3 F2 (ViaSat-3 EMEA)
Organization
United Launch Alliance
Location
Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Rocket
Atlas V 551
Pad
Space Launch Complex 41
Status
Go for Launch
Status Info
Current T-0 confirmed by official or reliable sources.
Window Opens
Wednesday, 11 / 05 / 2025 10:24 PM
Window Closes
Wednesday, 11 / 05 / 2025 11:08 PM
Destination
Geostationary Transfer Orbit
Mission Description
The ViaSat-3 is a series of three Ka-band satellites expected to deliver >1 Tbps of network capacity with flexible, dynamically directed service to where customers are located.
As of 10:30 AM ET Monday November 3, 2025. Launch assignments and times are subject to change or cancellation at any time. Consult
ULA for updates.
Weather
The 45th Weather Squadron of Space Launch Delta 45 has released their official Launch Mission Execution Forecast: 95% GO throughout the launch window:
Trajectory
The target orbit for the ViaSat-3 mission is believed to be ~11,700 × 23,600 km, with an inclination of ~6.0 °. After payload separation, the satellite will move to its final operational position in a sun-synchronous orbit under its own power.
Launch Viewing: In Person
Given that this is a launch from Cape Canaveral’s SLC-41, Jetty Park, The Banana River Bridge and southern Titusville Parks are your best bets.
Cocoa Beach and the northern Titusville parks will have an excellent view as well.
For official updates regarding launch times, the ULA mission page is the best source of information: ViaSat-3 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.
Speaking of streaming, if possible, watch one of the YouTube streams for the latest/greatest information. Things change pretty fast as the countdown heads towards zero, and the dulcet tones of Will Robinson-Smith on Spaceflight Now or the announcers on ULA’s live stream will keep you up to date.
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.
Best Public Viewing Spots for SpaceX Launches from SLC-40 (Cape Canaveral)
A “nebula” of gases from Booster B1091 is illuminated by the plume of the departing second stage during last night’s launch. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
SpaceX launched the Bandwagon-4 mission aboard Falcon 9 this morning in a beautiful launch that flew into mostly cloudy skies. Liftoff was at the first 01:09:59 AM of the night; daylight savings time ended less than an hour after the launch and it was 1am all over again.
At the Booster B1091 put on an incredible display after staging as it turned to return to Landing Zone 2 at Cape Canaveral. Shortly after touching down at the T+07:46 mark, a familiar pair of sonic booms washed over the Space Coast, heralding the return of the booster while Stage 2 continued on to orbit. It and the payload of some eighteen assorted satellites achieved that orbit at T+09:38 after liftoff.
Liftoff of Bandwagon 4 on November 2, 2025. Photo: SpaceX
Orbit is estimated to be ~510 × 510 km (± 20 km), at a 45º ±1º mid-inclination Low Earth Orbit.
At 1:28 AM EST, SpaceX confirmed the deployment of all payloads, indicating another successful mission for the company. This was SpaceX’s 585th mission overall, its 145th mission of 2025 and the 558th Falcon 9 mission to date.
Links are included only where publicly available official pages exist; unnamed Exolaunch customers currently have no public payload pages.
Launch Replay
Next Launch
Atlas V 551 | ViaSat-3 F2 (ViaSat-3 EMEA)
Organization
United Launch Alliance
Location
Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Rocket
Atlas V 551
Pad
Space Launch Complex 41
Status
Go for Launch
Status Info
Current T-0 confirmed by official or reliable sources.
Window Opens
Wednesday, 11 / 05 / 2025 10:24 PM
Window Closes
Wednesday, 11 / 05 / 2025 11:08 PM
Destination
Geostationary Transfer Orbit
Mission Description
The ViaSat-3 is a series of three Ka-band satellites expected to deliver >1 Tbps of network capacity with flexible, dynamically directed service to where customers are located.
As of 4:58 PM Sunday November 2, 2025. Launch assignments and times are subject to change or cancellation at any time. Consult
ULA for updates.
Booster Landing Planned for LZ-2, Expect a Sonic Boom Around 1:15 AM ET
SpaceX is set to launch Bandwagon 4 tonight from SLC-40 in Cape Canaveral around 1:09 AM EDT. The window is short, only three minutes. B1091 will be returning to Cape Canaveral and Landing Zone 2 after the Main Engine Cutoff and booster separation. As such, anticipate a sonic boom to reverberate across the Space Coast shortly afterward.
*Times cross a U.S. daylight saving transition on Sunday, Nov 2, 2025; 1:00–1:03 AM local can map to either 05:00–05:03 UTC (EDT) or 06:00–06:03 UTC (EST).
As of Saturday November 1, 2025, 10:06 AM. Launch assignments and times are subject to change or cancellation at any time. Consult
SpaceX.com for updates.
Weather
The 45th Weather Squadron of the US Space Force’s Space Delta 45 has released their Launch Mission Execution Forecast for tonight’s launch attempt: 95% GO.
Trajectory
Southeastward, with Booster B1091 returning to Cape Canaveral. The planned orbit is ~510 x ~510 km (approx. 317 x 317 miles), ~45 degrees inclination.
Payload
There are 18 known payloads aboard tonight’s mission, with the keystone customer being the South Korean Defense “425 Project.”
Links are included only where publicly available official pages exist; unnamed Exolaunch customers currently have no public payload pages.
Launch Viewing: In Person
As always, if you plan to watch the launch in person, arrive early and settle in at your chosen location. It’s going to a late night by most standards, so be sure to bring a jacket and a flashlight.
Follow the latest launch information on Spaceflight Now’s coverage, as well as SpaceX’s X.com feed and website.
Launch times can and do change quickly, especially when weather is a concern.
Finally, keep in mind that streaming coverage on YouTube or the X platform runs slightly behind the actual countdown — usually about 5-10 seconds. That’s simple physics – it takes some time for the signal to go through the Internet and the servers hosting it. The Next Spaceflight app displays the real countdown, so it is a good choice in the last few minutes.
Best Public Viewing Spots for SpaceX Launches from SLC-40 (Cape Canaveral)
Rooftop bar at Courtyard by Marriott with launch views; seating fills quickly. official hours.
Note: Distances are approximate straight-line measures. Access, hours, fees, security zones, and closures change by mission—verify on launch day.
Launch Viewing: Online
SpaceX will have a livestream of the launch on their website: Bandwagon-4. 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.
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.
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