SpaceX aims to launch its second Falcon 9 rocket in less than half a day. The Starlink 12-10 mission from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center comes about six hours after another Starlink flight took off from Vandenberg Space Force Base.
Liftoff from Launch Complex 39A is targeting 10:34 p.m. EDT (0234 UTC). This will be SpaceX’s 50th Falcon 9 launch of the year.
Spaceflight Now will have live coverage beginning about an hour prior to liftoff.
On Sunday, the 45th Weather Squadron forecast a 75 percent chance for favorable weather during the launch window. Meteorologists said they were tracking potential concerns with violations of the Cumulus Cloud and the Anvil Cloud Rules.
“The main weather threats for the primary launch opportunity are cumulus clouds associated with nearby showers and any lingering anvil clouds from remnant thunderstorms,” launch weather officers wrote.
SpaceX is debuting a new booster for this mission. It’s believed to either bear the tail number of B1091 or B1094, but it wasn’t clear prior to launch which was in the loop.
A little more that eight minutes after liftoff, the booster will target a landing on the droneship, ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas.’ If successful, this will be the 106th booster landing on that droneship and the 439th booster landing to date.
