Current:Home > FinanceSpaceX to launch 22 Starlink satellites today. How to watch the Falcon 9 liftoff. -Momentum Wealth Path
SpaceX to launch 22 Starlink satellites today. How to watch the Falcon 9 liftoff.
View
Date:2025-04-18 15:00:21
Look up, Florida.
SpaceX teams in the Sunshine State are on track to launch a Falcon 9 rocket with another batch of the company's Starlink internet satellites on Friday night.
Liftoff of the 230-foot rocket from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is slated for 6:39 p.m. EDT, with the launch window last until 10:15 p.m.
If liftoff goes as planned it will mark the Space Coast's 52nd launch this year.
Live Space Team launch coverage updates will be posted here at Florida Today, part of the USA TODAY Network, starting 90 minutes before the launch window opens.
SpaceX's broadcast will be hosted on X about five minutes before liftoff, and the viewing will be posted at the top of this page.
When is the SpaceX rocket launch?
The first opportunity to launch the Starlink 6-19 mission is at 6:39 p.m. EDT Friday night, during a nearly four-hour launch window with three additional opportunities through 10:15 p.m.
Is New York City sinking?NASA finds metropolitan area slowly submerging
What's the weather forecast for today's SpaceX rocket launch?
Weather conditions for the Starlink 6-19 mission, according to the Space Force's Space Launch Delta 45, are expected to be poor. Forecasters last projected a 40% chance of "go" conditions through the launch window.
Besides a primary concern of clouds and rain associated with thunderstorms, forecasters also listed the threat of lightning as a concern.
Recovery conditions for a booster landing aboard a drone ship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean near the Bahamas were listed as "low risk."
Will a shutdown affect my flight?What to know about air travel if Congress doesn't act.
Here's what else to know about today's launch:
- Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Launch Complex 40 will host.
- The payload is the company's next batch of Starlink internet-beaming satellites.
- The 230-foot Falcon 9 rocket will follow a southeasterly trajectory threading between Florida and the Bahamas.
- If it launches on time, it will mark the Space Coast's 52nd launch this year.
- No local sonic booms with this mission. The 130-foot first-stage booster will target a drone ship landing about eight minutes after liftoff.
- This will mark the 10th flight of the first stage booster.
Three other launches are also slated to take place in Florida this year.
Here they are:
October 6: ULA Project Kuiper Protoflight
- Company / Agency: United Launch Alliance
- Rocket: ULA Atlas V
- Location: Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
- Launch Window: Opens at 2 p.m. EDT
- Trajectory: East
- Weather: TBD
- Landing: None; Atlas V is expendable
- Live coverage: Starts 90 minutes before liftoff at floridatoday.com/space
- About: A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket will launch KuiperSat-1 and 2, the first pair of prototype satellites for Amazon's Project Kuiper broadband system − a planned constellation of over 3,000 satellites that will deliver global internet service connectivity. The satellites will serve as a testbed to inform future design, deployment and operational plans ahead of a full-scale deployment beginning in 2024.
October 12: SpaceX Psyche
- Company / Agency: SpaceX for NASA
- Rocket: SpaceX Falcon Heavy
- Location: Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center
- Launch Time: 10:16 a.m. EDT
- Trajectory: East
- Weather: TBD
- Landing: Landing Zones 1 and 2 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
- Live coverage: Starts 90 minutes before liftoff at floridatoday.com/space
- About: SpaceX will launch a triple-core Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida with NASA's Psyche spacecraft that's designed to study a metal asteroid orbiting the sun between Mars and Jupiter.
- Notes: Rescheduled from Thursday, Oct. 5 to allow teams more time to complete technical checkouts of the spacecraft.
2023 TBD: ULA Vulcan Centaur inaugural flight
- Company / Agency: United Launch Alliance
- Rocket: ULA Vulcan Centaur
- Location: Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
- Launch Time: TBD
- Trajectory: Northeast
- Weather: TBD
- Landing: None; Vulcan is expendable
- Live coverage: Starts 90 minutes before liftoff at floridatoday.com/space
- About: ULA's new Vulcan Centaur rocket, which will replace Atlas V to become the only vehicle in its fleet, will fly its inaugural mission from Cape Canaveral with Astrobotic's Peregrine lunar lander. The lander, selected by NASA to help advance research ahead of putting two astronauts on the surface sometime before 2030, is expected to touch down on the northern part of the moon.
veryGood! (8)
Related
- Federal Spending Freeze Could Have Widespread Impact on Environment, Emergency Management
- Explosion levels southwest Louisiana home, killing teen from Alabama and injuring 5
- Joshua Jackson Shares Rare Insight Into Bond With His and Jodie Turner-Smith's 4-Year-Old Daughter
- US Open: Jessica Pegula reaches her 7th Grand Slam quarterfinal. She is 0-6 at that stage so far
- Man can't find second winning lottery ticket, sues over $394 million jackpot, lawsuit says
- Rory Feek Denies “Cult” Ties and Allegations of Endangering Daughter Indiana
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, This is the Best Day
- Kathryn Hahn Shares What Got Her Kids “Psyched” About Her Marvel Role
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- Bus crashes into students and parents in eastern China, killing 11 and injuring 13, police say
Ranking
- Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
- Jenn Tran’s Ex Matt Rossi Says His Bachelorette: Men Tell All Appearance Was Cut
- Coast Guard, Navy team up for daring rescue of mother, daughter and pets near Hawaii
- US Open: No. 1 Jannik Sinner gets past Tommy Paul to set up a quarterfinal against Daniil Medvedev
- Could your smelly farts help science?
- Mistrial declared after jury deadlocks in rape case of former New Hampshire youth center worker
- Is your monthly Social Security benefit higher or lower than the average retiree's?
- Roger Federer understands why there are questions about US Open top seed Jannik Sinner’s doping case
Recommendation
Why we love Bear Pond Books, a ski town bookstore with a French bulldog 'Staff Pup'
When is NFL Week 1? Full schedule for opening week of 2024 regular season
Murder on Music Row: An off-key singer with $10K to burn helped solve a Nashville murder
Human remains found in Indiana in 1993 are identified as a South Carolina native
What to know about Tuesday’s US House primaries to replace Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz
Philadelphia Eagles work to remove bogus political ads purporting to endorse Kamala Harris
Rory Feek Denies “Cult” Ties and Allegations of Endangering Daughter Indiana
Philadelphia Eagles work to remove bogus political ads purporting to endorse Kamala Harris