CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION — For many, it will be an extra special Mother’s Day as SpaceX is getting ready for a Sunday night launch. 

What You Need To Know

  • SpaceX will take off at 8:53 p.m. ET

  • The launch will take place at Space Launch Complex 40

Leaving from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, the company’s Falcon 9 rocket is set to leave at 8:53 p.m. ET, SpaceX stated.

It will have additional chances to take off if it cannot leave on time, with the launch window closing at 12:11 a.m. ET, Monday.

For the Starlink 6-58 mission, the 45th Weather Squadron is giving an 85% chance of good liftoff conditions. The only concern is the thick cloud layers rule.

If the launch is scrubbed, the next attempt will be Monday at 8:59 p.m. ET.

Going up

The Falcon 9 first-stage booster, B1073, has 14 launch missions to its name, not counting this one.

“Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean,” SpaceX stated.

About the mission

The Falcon 9 rocket will send up 23 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit. These satellites provide telecommunications to many parts of the round Earth.

The Starlink company is owned by SpaceX.

Nearly 6,000 of them are in orbit, according to Dr. Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

McDowell records Starlink satellites.

  • 5,977 are in orbit
  • 5,233 are in operational orbit