SpaceX is going for a double header as the end of the year approaches. A Falcon 9 rocket is set to launch the Starlink 6-36 mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 11:01 p.m. EST (0401 UTC) on Thursday.
There are backup launch opportunities through 2:59 a.m. EST (0759 UTC) on Friday. This mission comes on the heels of the Falcon Heavy launch, sending the X-37B military spaceplane to orbit.
If the Starlink remains on schedule, the two missions will launch 2 hours 48 minutes and 40 seconds apart. That would mark the fastest turnaround between orbital launches from Florida since the launches of the Agena Target Vehicle and Gemini 8 on March 16, 1966, which were 1 hour 40 minutes and 59 seconds apart.
Spaceflight Now will have live coverage with commentary from the Cape starting an hour before liftoff.
Weather for the Starlink flight has a positive outlook. The 45th Weather Squadron forecast shows 90 percent chance of favorable weather for liftoff with cumulus clouds being the main concern. Meteorologists are also watching upper-level wind shear.
If needed, the launch weather in a 24-hour launch delay improves to 95 percent favorable with liftoff winds being a watch item along with upper-level wind shear. The backup window opens at 11 p.m. EST.
The booster supporting this mission is tail number B1069, which is set to make its 12th flight. This will be the ninth time the booster lifts off from Space Launch Complex-40 (SLC-40). It’s other three launches were from historic Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
It first launched SpaceX’s 24th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-24) mission and would go on to launch seven Starlink missions as well.
About 8.5 minutes after liftoff B1069 will land back on the droneship, ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas,’ which is stationed near the Bahamas in the Atlantic Ocean.
The mission will be the first flight of a Falcon 9 rocket since the return of the destroyed first stage booster, tail number B1058, earlier this week. Following the first flight of B1069 two years ago, SpaceX’s Kiko Dontchev said they started introducing self-leveling landing legs to help protect booster on their return to port.
Super disappointing and sad to lose booster 1058.
Tippy boosters occur when you get a certain set of landing conditions that lead to the legs having uneven loading. Heavy wind or sea state then cause the booster to teeter and slide which can lead to even worse leg loading. In…
— Kiko Dontchev (@TurkeyBeaver) December 26, 2023
