SpaceX launch: Live updates from Starlink Falcon 9 launch at Cape Canaveral, Florida - Florida Today

It's a second straight SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch day from Florida's Space Coast.

Welcome to FLORIDA TODAY's Space Team live coverage of today's SpaceX Starlink 6-54 mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

SpaceX is now targeting 6:08 p.m. EDT to launch a Falcon 9 from Launch Complex 40. The Falcon 9 will deploy a batch of 23 Starlink internet satellites, which are packed inside the fairing atop the 230-foot rocket.

No Central Florida sonic booms are expected during this mission. After soaring skyward along a southeasterly trajectory, the rocket's first-stage booster will target landing aboard a SpaceX drone ship out at sea 8½ minutes after liftoff.

SpaceX Falcon 9 booster lands

Update 6:16 p.m.: The Falcon 9 first-stage booster just landed aboard SpaceX's drone ship Just Read the Instructions out on the Atlantic Ocean, completing its 13th mission.

Liftoff!

Update 6:08 p.m.: SpaceX has just launched the Falcon 9 rocket carrying 23 Starlink satellites from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

SpaceX launch webcast begins

Update 6:03 p.m.: SpaceX's launch webcast hosted on X (formerly Twitter) is now posted above, right below the countdown clock.

Liftoff is scheduled in five minutes from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

SpaceX Falcon 9 launch coming up

Update 6 p.m.: Eight minutes before SpaceX's scheduled Falcon 9 launch, the countdown appears to be proceeding as planned. Fueling remains well underway at Launch Complex 40.

Following is a list of key upcoming countdown milestones. T-minus:

• 7 minutes: Falcon 9 begins engine chill prior to launch.
• 1 minute: Command flight computer begins final prelaunch checks; propellant tank pressurization to flight pressure begins.
• 45 seconds: SpaceX launch director verifies “go for launch.”
• 3 seconds: Engine controller commands engine ignition sequence to start.
• 0 seconds: Falcon 9 liftoff.

SpaceX booster to land on drone ship

Update 5:55 p.m.: Tonight's mission marks the 13th flight for this Falcon 9 first-stage booster, SpaceX reported.

The booster previously launched CRS-26, OneWeb Launch 16, Intelsat IS-40e, O3b mPOWER, Ovzon 3, EUTELSAT 36D and six Starlink missions.

Following stage separation, crews expect the booster to land aboard the drone ship Just Read the Instructions out on the Atlantic Ocean 8 minutes, 17 seconds after liftoff.

SpaceX: All systems and weather are 'go'

Update 5:45 p.m.: In a tweet, SpaceX officials announced that "all systems and weather are currently go."

SpaceX Falcon 9 fueling now underway

Update 5:35 p.m.: Falcon 9 fueling procedures are now underway at Launch Complex 40, SpaceX just announced.

That means tonight’s Starlink countdown is now locked in to lift off at 6:08 p.m. without any delays, or else the launch must be postponed.

SpaceX Dragon departed ISS this afternoon

Update 5:22 p.m.: This afternoon, SpaceX's Dragon capsule undocked from the International Space Station about 1:10 p.m.

The spacecraft launched to the ISS aboard a Falcon 9 on March 21 on NASA's CRS-30 resupply mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Splashdown is expected about 1 a.m. Tuesday off the Florida coastline.

SpaceX launch prep underway in Brevard

Update 5:10 p.m.: Brevard County Emergency Management officials have activated the agency's launch operations support team ahead of SpaceX’s upcoming Falcon 9 launch.

SpaceX targets Wednesday for next launch

Update 4:55 p.m.: Though SpaceX has not yet made a public announcement, a National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency navigational warning indicates the company is targeting Wednesday night for its next Starlink mission:

• Mission: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a batch of 23 Starlink internet satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
• Launch window: 9:43 p.m. to 2:14 a.m.
• 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.

Space Force: 80% 'go for launch' weather

Update 4:38 p.m.: The Space Force's 45th Weather Squadron predicts 80% odds of favorable conditions during this evening's SpaceX launch window.

Thick cloud layers and cumulus clouds pose the mission's primary weather risks.

" ... Considerable high cloudiness is expected to spill into the area from the west later (Saturday) and into Sunday, leading to an additional concern of sufficiently thick upper-level cloud layers; however, these clouds are likely to thin or exit the area for the backup launch opportunity on Monday," the squadron's forecast said.

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 atRneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1

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