SpaceX lines up Starlink launch for Sunday night

SpaceX now has more than 5,200 Starlink satellites in orbit, which aim to bring low latency, broadband internet system across the globe.

SpaceX is set to send up another Starlink launch from Cape Canaveral on Sunday night.

A Falcon 9 carrying 23 of the internet Satellites is targeting a 7:27 p.m. liftoff from Canaveral’s Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40, but has multiple launch opportunities through 11:25 p.m.

The launch, which was delayed from a Saturday attempt, has a southerly trajectory so will be more visible down the Florida coast.

Space Launch Delta 45’s weather squadron forecasts 85% chance for good conditions, which declines to 20% in the event of a 24-hour delay.

The first-stage booster is flying its 12th mission and will attempt a recovery landing on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas downrange in the Atlantic.

This would be the fourth launch from the Space Coast in 2024, all from Cape Canaveral so far. SpaceX has flown three of those while United Launch Alliance flew the debut mission of its new Vulcan Centaur.

SpaceX has Kennedy Space Center’s first launch of the year lined up for Wednesday evening. The Axiom Space Ax-3 mission with a crew of four flying on a Crew Dragon is also the first of what could be a banner year for crewed launches from the Space Coast, with as many as six human spaceflight missions planned before the end of 2024.

SpaceX has included California launches in its count of as many as 144 missions planned for the year. It’s already launched twice from Santa Barbara County’s Vandenberg Space Force Base in 2024, so Sunday’s Starlink mission marks its fifth of the year.

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