Launch scheduled for 12:03 a.m. Friday

(Copyright 2023 by WKMG ClickOrlando - All rights reserved.)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Another batch of Starlink internet satellites are set to launch onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket shortly after midnight Thursday from Cape Canaveral.

The launch at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 is scheduled for 12:03 a.m. Friday. An additional opportunity will present itself at 12:30 a.m. if need be, with further backups available at 11:38 p.m. Friday and 12:07 a.m. Saturday, according to SpaceX.

The 45th Weather Squadron has forecast a 65% chance for favorable conditions at launch time. The chances drop to 45% if there’s a 24-hour delay.

The booster that’s being used for this mission will be making its fifth flight, previously launching Crew-6, SES O3b mPOWER and two Starlink missions.

[TRENDING: Become a News 6 Insider]

“Just Read the Instructions,” an autonomous drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean, will be poised to catch the booster after stage separation.

ClickOrlando.com will stream the launch live at the top of this story when coverage begins.

Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily:

Copyright 2023 by WKMG ClickOrlando - All rights reserved.

About the Authors:

Brandon, a UCF grad, joined the ClickOrlando team in November 2021. Before joining News 6, Brandon worked at WDBO.

Jacob joined ClickOrlando.com in 2022. He spent 19 years at the Orlando Sentinel, mostly as a photojournalist and video journalist, before joining Spectrum News 13 as a web editor and digital journalist in 2021.