For SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – Another recycled SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is poised for liftoff near sunset Saturday, May 15, after going vertical at pad 39 with the next batch of Starlink broadband internet satellites this morning at Florida’s Spaceport.
SpaceX is targeting Saturday, May 15 for its next Starlink mission launching aboard the Falcon 9 from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The instantaneous launch window is at 6:54 p.m. EDT, or 2254 GMT.
The payload aboard the Starlink L-26 mission includes 52 Starlink satellites and two rideshare payloads – namely the Capella Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite, and Tyvak-0130.
Weather is decent at 70% favorable according to US Space Force forecasters with newly renamed Space Launch Delta 45
However there is a moderate risk to the booster recovery on the “Of Course I Still Love You” (OCISLY) droneship due to choppy sea states
SpaceX engineers rolled out the integrated Falcon 9 rocket and payload of 52 Starlink internet satellites and two rideshare payloads encapsulated in the recycled nose cone early this morning to pad 39A at KSC
In case of a delay a backup launch opportunity is available on Sunday, May 16 at 6:33 p.m. EDT, or 2233 GMT.
The Falcon 9 first stage booster that supported this mission previously launched NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station, ANASIS-II, CRS-21, Transporter-1, and three Starlink missions.
Following stage separation, SpaceX will land Falcon 9’s first stage on the “Of Course I Still Love You” droneship, which will be located in the Atlantic Ocean.
One half of Falcon 9’s fairing previously supported the SXM-7 mission, and the other previously supported the NROL-108 mission.
A live webcast of this mission will begin about 15 minutes prior to liftoff.
