SpaceX Starts Fueling Falcon 9 for 29-Satellite Starlink Launch as Weather Odds Drop to 40%
Updated
Updated · Florida Today · Aug 20
SpaceX Starts Fueling Falcon 9 for 29-Satellite Starlink Launch as Weather Odds Drop to 40%
3 articles · Updated · Florida Today · Aug 20
Summary
Fueling is underway at Cape Canaveral’s Launch Complex 40, locking SpaceX into an 11:38 a.m. EDT liftoff attempt for the Starlink 10-39 mission unless it slips to a later date.
The Falcon 9 is set to carry 29 Starlink broadband satellites to low-Earth orbit, while its first-stage booster targets its 30th flight and an Atlantic droneship landing 8 minutes 25 seconds after launch.
Launch weather worsened through the nearly four-hour window: the 45th Weather Squadron put favorable conditions at 80% initially, falling to 40% later as cumulus clouds, anvil clouds and electric fields build.
The Florida mission comes less than two days after SpaceX launched 24 Starlink satellites from California, underscoring the company’s rapid launch cadence.