Editor’s note: SpaceX is now targeting 9:56 p.m. EDT Friday for liftoff after four delays.
Original story: Another SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will lift off Friday evening and ascend along a northeasterly trajectory, enhancing visibility for spectators ranging northward to Daytona Beach and Jacksonville, navigational warnings indicate.
The Starlink 10-1 launch window will open from 6:58 p.m. to 11:26 p.m. from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, a National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency navigational warning shows.
In tandem, a Coast Guard navigational warning depicts the rocket’s planned northeastern path — a marked difference after months of southeasterly Starlink missions from the Cape.
SpaceX kicked off this northerly trend with Tuesday night’s launch. That mission sent up 20 Starlink satellites, including 13 with direct-to-cell communication capabilities.
Cape Canaveral:Is there a launch today? Upcoming SpaceX, NASA, ULA rocket launch schedule in Florida
Friday’s scheduled launch will occur on the heels of two internationally significant space missions.
On Wednesday morning, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams soared into orbit aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on its first-ever crewed mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Then Thursday morning, SpaceX was scheduled to launch its jumbo-sized Starship rocket on its fourth test flight from Boca Chica, Texas.
“Starship’s third flight test made tremendous strides towards a future of rapidly reliable reusable rockets. The test completed several exciting firsts, including the first Starship reentry from space, the first ever opening and closing of Starship’s payload door in space, and a successful propellant transfer demonstration. This last test provided valuable data for eventual ship-to-ship propellant transfers that will enable missions like returning astronauts to the Moon under NASA’s Artemis program,” the SpaceX website said.
“The fourth flight test turns our focus from achieving orbit to demonstrating the ability to return and reuse Starship and Super Heavy. The primary objectives will be executing a landing burn and soft splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico with the Super Heavy booster, and achieving a controlled entry of Starship,” the website 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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