SpaceX crews targeting Saturday for next Starlink rocket launch from Cape Canaveral

Rick Neale, Florida Today
·2 min read

SpaceX is targeting its next Falcon 9 rocket launch during a window that opens during dinnertime Saturday and extends hours past sunset into the evening, when a full "snow moon" should be visible amid clear, chilly Space Coast skies.

Though SpaceX has yet to publicly confirm this mission's existence, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and Federal Aviation Administration navigational warnings indicate a Starlink window will open from 4:59 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. EST Saturday. More details:

  • Mission: The Falcon 9 will launch another batch of Starlink internet-beaming satellites into low-Earth orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

  • Location: Launch Complex 40.

  • Trajectory: Southeast.

  • Local sonic boom: No.

  • Booster landing: Drone ship out on the Atlantic Ocean.

  • Live coverage: Starts 90 minutes before liftoff at floridatoday.com/space.

Cape Canaveral: Rocket launches in Florida: Here's an updating list of all 2024 Space Coast missions

Saturday's Starlink 6-39 mission would mark the 12th orbital launch thus far this year from the Space Coast. The 11th occurred Tuesday afternoon: SpaceX launched the Merah Putih 2 communications satellite for Indonesian communications provider Telkomsat from the Space Force installation.

Looking ahead to Saturday night, the National Weather Service forecast calls for clear skies, a low around 50 and west-northwest wind of 10 to 15 mph at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Gusts could reach 20 mph.

The snow moon will turn full for East Coast viewers at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, USA Today reports. This full moon — the last one this winter — will appear smaller than any other full moon this year.

For the latest news from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit floridatoday.com/space.

Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY (for more of his stories, click here.) Contact Neale at 321-242-3638 or [email protected]. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1

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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: SpaceX targets Saturday for next Starlink launch from Cape Canaveral

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