CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION — For those who can stay up late, you will be able to witness Florida’s first rocket launch for 2026.
What You Need To Know
The Starlink 6-88 mission will be Florida’s first launch of 2026.
SpaceX stated that its Falcon 9 rocket will be leaving Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 early Sunday morning.
It will be sending up the Starlink 6-88 mission.
The launch window opens at midnight and will close at 3:17 a.m. ET.
Find out more about the weather criteria for a Falcon 9 launch.
The maiden launch
This will be the first launch for B1101, the name of this Falcon 9’s first-stage booster.
After the stage separation, it will land on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas, which will be out in the Atlantic Ocean.
About the mission
SpaceX owns the Starlink company, which will see its 29 satellites go to low-Earth orbit.
Once deployed and in their orbit with the thousands of other Starlinks, they will provide internet service to many parts of the little round Earth.
Dr. Jonathan McDowell, of Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, has been documenting Starlink satellites.
Before this launch, McDowell recorded the following:
9,395 are in orbit
8,157 are in operational orbit