SpaceX Adjusts Liftoff Time for Starlink 6-13 Mission As Hurricane Idalia Impacts Florida
Update 7:52 p.m. EDT: SpaceX has made changes to the liftoff time for its Starlink 6-13 mission. The liftoff is now scheduled for 9:31 p.m. EDT (0131 UTC). Additionally, the company has announced that there are three other launch opportunities for the mission on Thursday.
Update 7:05 p.m. EDT: SpaceX has delayed the liftoff time for the Starlink 6-13 mission to 8:40 p.m. EDT (0040 UTC on Sept. 1). The decision was made due to the impacts of Hurricane Idalia on the Cape. SpaceX’s launch teams are closely monitoring the situation.
SpaceX is gearing up for its 60th orbital launch of the year with the Starlink 6-13 mission. The liftoff is currently targeted for Thursday, Aug. 31, at 7:52 p.m. EDT (2352 UTC). This mission will see 22 Starlink satellites being deployed to low Earth orbit by a Falcon 9 rocket.
If this launch is successful, SpaceX will break its own record set in 2022 with 61 missions completed in a year. The company is currently dominating the launch market, with 43 orbital launches in the first two quarters of 2022. This is almost double the number of launches by all other launch providers worldwide during the same period.
SpaceX has also demonstrated its superior payload capacity, having launched 447,209 kg of spacecraft upmass in the first two quarters, compared to the next closest launcher, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, which launched 47,034 kg.
However, SpaceX faced an engine issue with one of its Falcon 9’s Merlin engines that prevented it from tying its 2022 launch record with a mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base. The company is now targeting a liftoff on Friday, Sept. 1, for that mission.
There are also concerns about the weather for the Starlink 6-13 mission. The 45th Weather Squadron at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station predicted a 20 percent chance of favorable weather at the opening of the launch window. The odds improve to 60 percent by the end of the window, which closes at 11:29 p.m. EDT.
The booster for the Starlink 6-13 mission, tail number B1077, has flown six missions in the past, including the Crew-5 mission. It is expected to land on SpaceX’s drone ship, ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas’, in the Atlantic Ocean.
Meanwhile, SpaceX’s other drone ship, ‘Just Read the Instructions’, has returned to Port Canaveral after seeking shelter in the Bahamas during Hurricane Idalia’s passage through Florida and up the East Coast.
As SpaceX continues to push the boundaries of space exploration and satellite deployment, all eyes are on its upcoming launches and the potential breaking of yet another record.