SpaceX targeting early morning Friday for Falcon 9 rocket launch on Starlink mission

After Saturday's rare SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch doubleheader, the company is targeting its next Starlink launch from the Space Coast during a predawn launch window Friday, navigational warnings show.

Though SpaceX has yet to announce this mission's existence, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and Federal Aviation Administration advisories indicate a 4½-hour Starlink 6-47 mission launch window will open from 2:14 a.m. to 6:45 a.m. EDT.

This mission is slated as the Space Coast's 23rd orbital launch thus far this year, maintaining a speedy pace that would shatter the annual record of 72 launches set during 2023.

More details on Friday's early morning launch window:

• Mission: A Falcon 9 will launch a payload of Starlink broadband satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
• Location: Launch Complex 40.
• Trajectory: Southeast.
• Local sonic boom: No.
• Booster landing: Drone ship out on the Atlantic Ocean.
• Live coverage: Starts 90 minutes before liftoff at floridatoday.com/space.

The Space Force's 45th Weather Squadron forecasts 90% "go for launch" weather conditions, with a slight risk of a scrub triggered by strong liftoff winds or thick cloud layers.

On Saturday, SpaceX crews launched two back-to-back Falcon 9s within three hours and 38 minutes, sending the Eutelsat 36D telecommunications satellite and the Starlink 6-45 mission rocketing into low-Earth orbit from NASA's Kennedy Space Center and neighboring Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Looking ahead on the Space Coast launch schedule, a National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency advisory shows a rocket launch window will open from 7:12 p.m. to 7:50 p.m. Sunday.

SpaceX has yet to make a public announcement, but this is likely the company's Bandwagon-1 rideshare mission serving an array of small satellite operators. One — Capella Space Corp., which will launch its Acadia-4 satellite — announced that Bandwagon-1 is scheduled to lift off Sunday from pad 39A at KSC.

Then on Tuesday, United Launch Alliance will make its second attempt to launch the last Delta IV Heavy rocket on the NROL-70 national security mission. Target time: 12:53 p.m.

For the latest news and launch schedule from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit floridatoday.com/space.

Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY (for more of his stories, click here.) Contact Neale at Rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1

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