SpaceX 10th Starlink launch attempt gets rained out, next try TBD

Falcon 9 to launch with Starlink and BlackSky Global satellites

Scrub: SpaceX 10th Starlink satellite launch TBD after delay

Originally scheduled to launch two weeks ago, SpaceX tried once again to launch its tenth batch of Starlink communication satellites atop its Falcon 9 rocket Wednesday, however, storms spoiled the companies latest attempt.

The liftoff was scheduled for no earlier than 11:59 a.m. Wednesday from Kennedy Space Center pad 39A, News 6 partner Florida Today reported but about 10 minutes before the launch SpaceX it was standing down due to the weather.

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The private company will announce a new target launch date once confirmed on the 45th Space Wing. Friday could be the next try.

Weather was going to be tricky either way Wednesday as storm clouds rolled in around the launch pad about an hour ahead of the scheduled liftoff.

Here are the things you need to know for the launch when it does happen:

  • Densely packed together in the payload fairing are 57 Starlink communications satellites and two spacecraft for BlackSky Global.
  • Upon success of this mission, SpaceX will have launched nearly 600 Starlink satellites.
  • In the event of a delay, weather improves slightly to 70% “go” for a Friday launch.
  • About eight minutes after liftoff, the Falcon 9 rocket’s first-stage booster will target an automatic landing on the Of Course I Still Love You drone ship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
  • SpaceX’s goal is to have almost 12,000 satellites operating in low-Earth orbit, with plans to launch an additional 30,000 satellites in the future.
  • Part of the goal of creating the Starlink broadband constellation is to help fund Musk’s dream of colonizing Mars.
  • For this launch all the Starlink satellites are equipped with a deployable visor to block sunlight from hitting the brightest spots of the spacecraft. SpaceX says this will help prevent the satellite from reflecting sunlight down to Earth and interfering with astronomical observations.