The countdown to 100 continues: SpaceX is targeting Sunday, Oct. 19, to launch the 87th orbital rocket of the year from Florida’s Space Coast.
This midday four-hour launch window extends from 10:52 a.m. to 2:52 p.m. SpaceX will send up a Falcon 9 rocket on another Starlink mission from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The National Weather Service forecast indicates excellent viewing conditions for launch spectators. Expect sunny skies Sunday with a high near 85 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, coupled with a light south-southeast wind of 5 to 10 mph.
The Falcon 9 will follow a northeasterly trajectory and deploy 28 Starlink internet satellites into low-Earth orbit. The first-stage booster will target landing on SpaceX’s drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean.
SpaceX’s last Starlink launch from the Cape occurred before sunrise Thursday, Oct. 16. That mission marked the 500th landing of a Falcon 9 rocket after the booster touched down atop SpaceX’s drone ship Just Read the Instructions out at sea.
Looking ahead on the Eastern Range schedule, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will lift two Airbus-developed satellites into orbit on the SpainSat NG-II mission. That nighttime launch window will last nearly four hours, opening at 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 22, and extending until 1:19 a.m. Thursday.
(This story has been updated with new information.)
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Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at Rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1