Weather conditions around Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Father’s Day should be mostly conducive to SpaceX’s upcoming launch of the Falcon 9 with a communications satellite for Indonesian satellite operator PSN.
Meteorologists at the Space Force’s Space Launch Delta 45 said conditions on Sunday, June 18, should gradually improve from 60% to 75% “go” over the three-hour launch window, which runs from 6 to 9 p.m. EST United.
“(a) boundary should push south of the space coast by Saturday morning, creating a more natural summer pattern of coastal sea breeze development on Saturday and Sunday,” forecasters said in a report Friday. “Depending on local convective interactions, the storm should decrease through the release window.”
The main concerns for takeoff Sunday night are cumulonimbus clouds, anvil and the chance of lightning.
About eight minutes after liftoff, the booster first stage will aim to land on a SpaceX drone ship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
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Less impact on cruise ships and planes
During Sunday’s launch window, three cruise ships are scheduled to depart from nearby Port Canaveral.
Last year, a SpaceX mission with a flight path to the Southeast was canceled when a cruise ship veered into an exclusion zone that stretched south along the state’s coast.
But with Sunday’s mission, the 230-foot rocket will fly directly east Away from Launch Complex 40 over the Atlantic with exclusion zones extending away from the coast but not to the south, helping to avoid any conflicts with the ships’ scheduled departures.
In an effort to create less impact on air travel, on Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration announce In April, it began reducing the no-fly zones around Florida’s space coast for most launches.
“Sections of airspace in the north that were traditionally closed for all launches can now remain open during most launches,” the agency said in a statement. “Based on risk analyzes performed for each launch and work with the US Space Forces and space launch operators, the FAA determined that the current airspace restrictions for most launches in Florida were too great and could be safely reduced.”
According to the FAA, since April, no flights have been required to be rerouted during 10 of the 12 launches that involved the reduced no-fly zone.
This change primarily affects commercial flights that travel northeast to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and the Kennedy Space Center. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the change should help hundreds of passengers reduce flight delays.
When is the next launch date?
After Sunday’s SpaceX mission, United Launch Alliance teams at Cape’s Launch Complex 37 prepare for the next-to-last launch of the Delta IV Heavy rocket before it is retired.
The three-core rocket is scheduled for takeoff at 3:29 a.m. EST, Wednesday, June 21. The mission, called NROL-68, will launch a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office.
Find FLORIDA TODAY’s live launch coverage starting 90 minutes before both missions kick off at https://www.floridatoday.com/space/.
For the latest information, visit floridatoday.com/launchschedule.
Contact Jimmy Groh at JGroh@floridatoday.com and follow her Twitter @AlteredJamie.
Launching Sunday, June 18th
- Company/Agency: SpaceX for the Indonesian satellite operator PSN
- rocket: SpaceX Falcon 9
- location: Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Station
- launch window: Between 6:04 PM and 9:02 PM EST
- a path: Eastern
- weather: 60% “go” which improves to 75% “go” by the end of the window
- Landing: unmanned ship
- Live coverage: Starts 90 minutes before take-off at floridatoday.com/space
- on: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Satria communications satellite for the Indonesian government and Indonesian satellite operator PSN from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
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