Run recap: Scroll down to watch live coverage of the Thursday, June 27 launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral on the Starlink 10-3 mission.
It’s another launch day on the Space Coast, with SpaceX scheduled for a morning launch less than an hour after sunrise.
Welcome to the FLORIDA TODAY space team’s live broadcast of today’s SpaceX Starlink 10-3 mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
SpaceX is on track to launch a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 40 at 7:14 a.m. EDT. The Falcon 9 will deploy the next batch of 23 Starlink Internet satellites into low Earth orbit.
No sonic booms are expected in Central Florida. After the rocket takes off into the sky on a northeast trajectory, the first-stage rocket booster aims to land aboard a SpaceX drone ship at sea nearly 8½ minutes after launch.
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SpaceX Falcon 9 booster lands
Update 7:22: The first stage of the Falcon 9 booster has just landed aboard SpaceX’s Just Read the Instructions unmanned ship in the Atlantic Ocean, completing its groundbreaking 22nd mission.
“Falcon 9 lands on a Just Read the Instructions drone and completes the first 22nd booster launch and landing!” SpaceX officials made the announcement in a tweet.
Departure!
Update 7:14: SpaceX just launched a Falcon 9 carrying 23 Starlink satellites from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
SpaceX’s launch webcast begins
Update 7:09 a.m.: SpaceX’s launch webcast hosted on X (formerly Twitter) is now posted above, directly below the countdown clock.
The launch is scheduled in five minutes from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The launch of the rocket will be in 10 minutes
Update 7:04 a.m.: With 10 minutes remaining in SpaceX’s launch countdown, everything seems to be moving towards launch.
Thin clouds stretch across the morning sky at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Press Site, within range of the launch pad, after a bright orange sunrise.
SpaceX launch countdown timeline
Update 6:58: The following is a behind-the-scenes recap of SpaceX’s countdown timeline. T-minus:
- 16 minutes: The second phase of filling with liquid oxygen begins.
- 7 minutes: Falcon 9 will begin engine cooling before launch.
- 1 minute: The command flight computer will begin the final pre-takeoff checks; pressurization of the fuel tank to flight pressure begins.
- 45 seconds: SpaceX launch director verifies “go” for launch.
- 3 seconds: The engine control unit instructs the engine to start the ignition sequence.
- 0 seconds: Lift.
SpaceX Falcon 9 refueling underway
Update 6:42: SpaceX just announced that Falcon 9 refueling procedures are underway at Launch Complex 40.
“All systems look good and weather is favorable for today’s launch of 23 @Starlink satellites from Florida’s Falcon 9,” SpaceX officials tweeted.
This means that the Starlink countdown is now locked to start at 7:14am without any delay, otherwise today’s launch must be postponed.
SpaceX’s booster will fly for the twenty-second time
Update 6:30 a.m.: Today’s mission marks the 22nd flight of this Falcon 9 first stage booster, SpaceX said.
The well-travelled booster has previously launched GPS III Space Vehicle 04, GPS III Space Vehicle 05, Inspiration4, Ax-1, Nilesat 301, OneWeb Launch 17, ARABSAT BADR-8 and 14 Starlink missions.
After stage separation, crews expect the booster to land on the SpaceX drone ship Just Read Instructions in the Atlantic Ocean 8 minutes, 13 seconds after liftoff.
Preparation for SpaceX launch underway in Brevard
Update 6:13: Brevard County emergency management officials have activated the agency’s launch operations support team ahead of SpaceX’s upcoming Falcon 9 launch.
Space Forces: 90% “go to launch” weather.
Update 5:57: The Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron is forecasting a 90 percent chance of “go-to-launch” weather conditions, with cumulus clouds posing the greatest threat.
“The surface high will remain to our east, with the axis of the ridge south of the FL peninsula through the end of the week,” the squadron forecast said.
“Although sea breeze showers and thunderstorms are expected to develop off the Cape in the afternoon and evening, most of the spaceport should remain dry during the primary and backup launch windows,” the forecast said.
This afternoon the National Weather Service predicts the mercury will reach 94 degrees in Melbourne – with a heat index of 105.
For the latest news from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and KSC, visit floridatoday.com/space.
Rick Neale is the Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale atRneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1
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