SpaceX launches Falcon 9 in predawn darkness Friday on Starlink mission from Cape Canaveral

Rick Neale, Florida Today
·2 min read

Two hours before sunrise, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket illuminated the predawn darkness during a Friday morning liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

The early-bird Starlink 6-47 mission lifted off at 5:12 a.m. EDT from Launch Complex 40, shipping another payload of 23 Starlink broadband satellites into the company's ever-expanding constellation in low-Earth orbit

In a tweet last week, SpaceX officials announced Argentina is now the 72nd country worldwide — and seventh in South America — that can access Starlink high-speed internet service.

Following Friday's rocket stage separation, the Falcon 9 booster landed atop SpaceX's drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas out on the Atlantic Ocean, wrapping up its 14th mission. The booster previously launched CRS-24, Eutelsat HOTBIRD 13F, OneWeb 1, SES-18 and SES-19 and nine Starlink missions, SpaceX reported.

SpaceX had a second Friday launch scheduled in California: A Falcon 9 was scheduled to send up 21 Starlink satellites — including six with direct-to-cell capabilities — at 10:31 p.m. EDT from Vandenberg Space Force Base.

During Friday's early morning Florida countdown, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk retweeted a highlight video featuring the March 14 Starship test flight from Boca Chica, Texas, with a message: "Flight 4 next month."

In Brevard County, Air Force officials are preparing an environmental impact statement examining SpaceX's proposal to convert Launch Complex 37 into a Starship-Super Heavy launch facility by 2026 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Base. Public open houses were conducted last month in Cocoa, Titusville and Cape Canaveral to collect public comments about the massive rocket system.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket ascends from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station early Friday morning.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket ascends from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station early Friday morning.

Cape Canaveral: Is there a launch today? Upcoming rocket launch schedule for SpaceX, ULA, NASA in Florida

Next on the launch calendar, SpaceX is targeting Sunday evening for its next mission from the Cape, Federal Aviation Administration and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency navigational warnings show. More information:

  • Mission: A SpaceX Falcon 9 will launch a Bandwagon-1 "rideshare" payload of small satellites from NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

  • Launch window: 7:12 p.m. to 7:50 p.m.

  • Location: Pad 39A.

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

The crescent moon rises over Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station after Friday's early morning liftoff of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
The crescent moon rises over Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station after Friday's early morning liftoff of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

Then on Tuesday, United Launch Alliance continues to target 12:53 p.m. for the historic last launch of a Delta IV Heavy triple-core rocket on the NROL-70 national security mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

For the latest news from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and KSC, visit floridatoday.com/space.

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

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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: SpaceX launches Falcon 9 in predawn darkness Friday from Cape Canaveral

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