SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rocket Sunday; Axiom Space crewed mission is up next on Wednesday

After a scrubbed Saturday attempt, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket took flight Sunday night after daytime rainy weather cleared from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

SpaceX's Starlink 6-37 mission launched in the cloudy darkness at 8:52 p.m. EST from Launch Complex 40, sending another payload of 23 internet-beaming satellites into low-Earth orbit.

Following stage separation, the Falcon 9 first-stage booster wrapped up its 12th mission by landing atop the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas out on the Atlantic Ocean. Scheduled time: 8 minutes, 13 seconds after liftoff.

This booster previously launched SES-22, ispace’s HAKUTO-R Mission 1, Hispasat Amazonas Nexus mission, CRS-27 and seven Starlink missions, SpaceX reported.

Next, on Wednesday, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch four European astronauts to the International Space Station aboard a Dragon capsule. Axiom-3 mission details:

• Launch target: 5:11 p.m.

• Location: Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

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

Sunday's Starlink mission was initially scheduled for a 7:27 p.m. liftoff, one day after crews stood down from a Saturday night attempt. SpaceX did not publicly announce why Saturday's Starlink 6-37 mission was postponed.

For the latest launch schedule updates from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit floridatoday.com/launchschedule.

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 launches Falcon 9 Sunday; Axiom crewed mission up next Wednesday