Title: SpaceX’s Starlink Delivery Mission Scheduled for Tuesday Night Launch
SpaceX is gearing up for a Starlink delivery mission from Cape Canaveral on Tuesday night, marking the first of two planned Falcon 9 launches in less than 48 hours. The liftoff from pad 40 is now set for 11:31 p.m. EST (0431 UTC).
The mission will involve the launch of 23 more satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink internet service, with near-perfect weather conditions forecasted for the event. U.S. Space Force meteorologists at the 45th Weather squadron have stated that there is a greater than 95-percent chance of acceptable weather for launch.
This launch will also be a significant moment for Space Launch Complex 40, as it will be the first launch since SpaceX attached a crew access arm to a recently-constructed tower, upgrading the facility to handle crew and cargo Dragon flights.
Additionally, SpaceX is preparing for a second Falcon 9 launch with a Cargo Dragon for a space station resupply mission scheduled for Thursday at 8:28 p.m. EST (0128 UTC) from NASA’s neighboring Kennedy Space Center.
However, on the other side of the country at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, another Falcon 9 launch of the Transporter 9 mission has been delayed by two days to Nov. 11. This mission will carry a multitude of small satellites on a ride-share mission.
The Falcon 9 booster for Tuesday’s Starlink 6-27 mission, tail number B1073, is making its 11th flight and is expected to head south-easterly targeting an orbit inclined 43 degrees to the Equator. After launch, the first stage will continue downrange to land on the drone ship ‘Just Read the Instructions’ in the Atlantic Ocean, while the payload fairing halves will splash down on parachutes and be recovered.
After reaching a parking orbit and coasting for about 45 minutes, the second stage engine will re-ignite for a three-second burn to refine the orbit before deploying the 23 V2 Mini Starlink satellites. The mission is expected to provide internet service to more than two million subscribers worldwide.
Overall, this launch will mark SpaceX’s 80th orbital launch of the year and the 270th flight of a Falcon 9 rocket to date.
Spaceflight Now will provide live coverage of the launch, and viewers can also watch 24-7 views of launch pads at the Cape in the Launch Pad Live stream.