SpaceX is preparing for the first of three planned Falcon 9 rocket launches over the next two days, which include two Starlink flights and a customer mission.
First up is the Starlink 6-70 mission, which will launch from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Liftoff is set for no earlier than 3:29 a.m. EST (0829 UTC) on Wednesday, Dec. 4.
Spaceflight Now will have live coverage beginning about an hour prior to liftoff.
Heading into the launch window, the 45th Weather Squadron forecast fairly pristine conditions. Launch weather officers said there should be a greater than 95 percent chance of favorable weather at liftoff, citing no specific meteorological concerns.
“Cool and breezy conditions are expected throughout the beginning and middle of this week as high pressure dominates prior to a weak cold front passage this Friday,” the written forecasts stated. “Cold northerly air flowing over the Gulf Stream is expected to drive marine stratocumulus development Wednesday morning, which may approach the coast but poses no threat to the primary launch attempt.”
The Starlink 6-70 mission will take the Falcon 9 rocket on a south-easterly trajectory. A little more than eight minutes after liftoff, the first stage booster will touchdown on a SpaceX droneship, positioned in the Atlantic Ocean.
If successful, this will mark the 299th booster landing and the 378th booster landing to date.
SpaceX is set to follow up the Starlink 6-70 mission with the launch of the Starlink 9-14 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base Wednesday night and the launch of the SiriusXM-9 satellites from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center late Thursday morning.
