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Update: SpaceX successfully launched this mission at 7:32 p.m. EDT on Saturday, September 24 and landed on the Just Read the Instructions drone ship minutes later.
Follow live as SpaceX targets 7:32 p.m. EDT on Saturday, September 24 for the launch of a Falcon 9 rocket with 52 Starlink internet satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The 230-foot rocket flying from pad 40 has an instant window, meaning it must be launched on time or delayed to another day.
Tonight’s Falcon 9 flight marks the internet constellation’s 62nd and Florida’s 41st launch of the year. After liftoff, the Falcon 9 booster will aim for a landing on a drone ship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
A backup opportunity is available on Sunday evenings if needed.
Live event updates below:
The Falcon 9 has landed
7:41 p.m. EDT: About nine minutes after liftoff, Falcon 9’s first-stage thruster landed on “A Shortfall of Gravitas” drone stationed in the Atlantic Ocean off South Carolina. The deployment of the Starlink satellite stack is expected to arrive in about four minutes.
Lift-off!
7:32 p.m. EDT: SpaceX launches a Falcon 9 Starlink mission on time at 7:32 p.m. EDT from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Within 5 minutes
7:26 p.m. EDT: Now less than five minutes away from SpaceX’s next Falcon 9 launch attempt from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station with 52 Starlink internet satellites. Takeoff is scheduled for 7:32 p.m. EDT. The weather forecast looks favorable for a take-off attempt this evening. No hardware issues either.
Refueling in progress
6:56 p.m. EDT: SpaceX is now circulating propellants — supercooled liquid oxygen and kerosene — through both stages of the 230-foot rocket before an attempted liftoff at 7:32 p.m. EDT from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
SpaceX countdown to 7:32 p.m. liftoff from pad 40
6:30 p.m. EDT: SpaceX is counting down to the Falcon 9 Starlink liftoff tonight from Pad 40 of Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The weather forecast is favorable. The 45th Weather Squadron yesterday predicted an 80% chance of favorable takeoff conditions for tonight.
For the latest, visit floridatoday.com/launchschedule.
Jamie Groh is a space reporter for Florida Today. You can contact her at [email protected] Follow her on Twitter at @AlteredJamie.
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