CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION — Since it is now daylight savings time, skywatchers will have a bit more light to see SpaceX launch more than 20 Starlink satellites on Sunday night.

What You Need To Know

  • The nearly four-hour launch window opens 7:05 p.m. ET

  • The Starlink 6-43 mission will be leaving Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

  • Spectrum News meteorologist Zach Covey says the weather for the booster recovery might be a concern

  • Get more space coverage here  ▶

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 is anticipated to lift off Starlink 6-43 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, stated the company.   

The nearly four-hour launch window opens at 7:05 p.m. ET and backup attempts will go until 11:03 p.m. ET.

Spectrum News meteorologist Zach Covey says that the weather looks pretty good, with only a few concerns.

“With our cold front now safely to our south, weather at the cape looks to improve as the window time progresses. A few passing cumulus clouds will likely be the only concern at the Cape itself,” he stated.

Lifting off to low-Earth orbit

Named B1077, this Falcon 9 first-stage booster for the Starlink 6-43 mission has been around the block. Before this launch, it has 10 missions to its name.

  1. Crew-5
  2. GPS III Space Vehicle 06
  3. Inmarsat I-6 F2
  4. CRS-28
  5. Intelsat G-37
  6. NG-20
  7. Starlink mission 5-10
  8. Starlink mission 6-13
  9. Starlink mission 6-25
  10. Starlink mission 6-33

After the rocket’s stage separation, it is expected to land on the droneship, Just Read The Instructions, that is out in the Atlantic Ocean.

Covey warned that the recovery weather for the booster might be an issue as the night goes on.

“Booster recovery weather will become an issue as we go later on in the launch window as winds offshore of Florida pick up. Booster recovery will be on a droneship in the Atlantic where winds will likely gust above 30 mph, so weather will need to be monitored for recovery. That looks to be our only real issue today for launch,” according to Covey on Sunday morning.

Understanding the mission

SpaceX will send 23 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit, where they will provide internet services to most parts of the round Earth, stated Starlink, a company owned by SpaceX.

Before the launch, Dr. Jonathan McDowell of Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics recorded the following Starlink satellites.

  • 5,548 are in orbit
  • 5,487 in working order
  • 5,128 are in operational orbit

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