Launch recap: Scroll down to review live coverage of the Saturday, Aug. 10, liftoff of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral on the Starlink 8-3 mission.
Welcome to FLORIDA TODAY Space Team live coverage of this morning’s SpaceX Starlink launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The Falcon 9 is now scheduled to lift off at 8:50 a.m. EDT from Launch Complex 40. This is the Starlink 8-3 mission, which got scrubbed Friday because of poor booster recovery conditions. The first stage will land on the SpaceX drone ship Just Read the Instructions offshore in the Atlantic Ocean.
No Central Florida sonic booms are expected.
Initially, SpaceX had also scheduled a second Falcon 9 to launch at 9:03 a.m. from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, per SpaceX’s website. But the Starlink 10-7 mission has been rescheduled to 7:21 a.m. Sunday: FLORIDA TODAY Photographer/Videographer Craig Bailey reports that rocket remains horizontal at the launch pad this morning.
SpaceX Falcon 9 booster lands
Update 8:58 a.m.: The Falcon 9 first-stage booster just landed atop SpaceX’s drone ship Just Read the Instructions in the Atlantic Ocean, completing its 21st mission.
Liftoff!
Update 8:50 a.m.: SpaceX has just launched the Falcon 9 carrying 21 Starlink satellites from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
SpaceX launch webcast begins
Update 8:44 a.m.: SpaceX’s launch webcast hosted on X (formerly Twitter) is now posted above, right below the countdown clock.
Liftoff is scheduled in six minutes from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
SpaceX launch weather looks clear
Update 8:40 a.m.: This National Weather Service radar loop from the station at Melbourne Orlando International Airport shows clear skies over Cape Canaveral 10 minutes before liftoff.
SpaceX Falcon 9 launch coming up
Update 8:35 a.m.: Fifteen minutes before SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launch, the countdown appears to be proceeding as planned. Rocket fueling remains well underway at Launch Complex 40.
Following is a list of key remaining countdown milestones. T-minus:
- 7 minutes: Falcon 9 begins engine chill prior to launch.
- 1 minute: Command flight computer begins final prelaunch checks; propellant tank pressurization to flight pressure begins.
- 45 seconds: SpaceX launch director verifies “go for launch.”
- 3 seconds: Engine controller commands engine ignition sequence to start.
- 0 seconds: Falcon 9 liftoff.
SpaceX rocket booster to land for 21st time
Update 8:25 a.m.: Today’s mission marks the Falcon 9 first-stage booster’s 21st flight, SpaceX reported.
The much-traveled booster previously launched CRS-22, Crew-3, Turksat 5B, Crew-4, CRS-25, Eutelsat HOTBIRD 13G, mPOWER-a, PSN SATRIA, Telkomsat Merah Putih 2 and 11 Starlink missions.
Following stage separation, crews expect the booster to land on the SpaceX drone ship Just Read the Instructions in the Atlantic Ocean 8 minutes, 21 seconds after liftoff.
SpaceX Falcon 9 fueling about to begin
Update 8:15 a.m.: SpaceX just announced Falcon 9 fueling procedures are about to begin at Launch Complex 40, and “all systems are looking good.”
That means this morning’s Starlink countdown is now locked in to lift off at 8:50 a.m. without any delays, or else the launch must be postponed again.
SpaceX launch countdown timeline
Update 8:11 a.m.: Here’s a rundown of SpaceX’s behind-the-scenes countdown timeline. T-minus:
- 38 minutes: SpaceX launch director verifies “go” for propellant load.
- 35 minutes: Rocket-grade kerosene and first-stage liquid oxygen loading begins.
- 16 minutes: Second-stage liquid oxygen loading begins.
- 7 minutes: Falcon 9 begins engine chill prior to launch.
- 1 minute: Command flight computer begins final prelaunch checks; propellant tank pressurization to flight pressure begins.
- 45 seconds: SpaceX launch director verifies “go” for launch.
- 3 seconds: Engine controller commands engine ignition sequence to start.
- 0 seconds: Liftoff.
SpaceX launch prep underway in Brevard
Update 8 a.m.: Brevard County Emergency Management officials have activated the agency’s launch operations support team ahead of SpaceX’s upcoming Falcon 9 launch.
Space Force: 90% odds of early good weather
Update 7:35 a.m.: The Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron pegs the odds of “go for launch” weather at 90% early during the launch window, decreasing to 70% later this morning.
Similar weather is expected for tomorrow morning’s Starlink launch, with favorable odds hitting 90% early in the launch window and later decreasing to 80%.
Primary concerns: cumulus clouds.
“The Atlantic subtropical ridge axis will build over the Florida Strait today and move slowly northward over Florida this weekend, bringing weak southwesterly flow to the Spaceport through Sunday,” the forecast said.
“Thunderstorm development is expected to start near the end of the window each day and conditions should be generally favorable for either window. The primary concern each morning will be for a Cumulus Cloud Rule violation, particularly near the end of the window, as the sea breeze starts to form and move inland across the Cape,” the forecast said.
For the latest news and launch schedule 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. Contact Neale atRneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1
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