Update at 5:30 a.m. EDT/0930 UTC):
SpaceX delayed the Starlink Group 7-1 mission until Friday at 12:30 p.m. PDT (3:30 a.m. EDT (0430 UTC). No explanation was given).
Update (10:10 p.m. EDT/0210 UTC):
SpaceX has adjusted the launch time of the Starlink Group 7-1 mission. The new T-0 is now 1:42 a.m. PDT (4:42 a.m. EDT, 0842 UTC). The change was announced after SpaceX updated the launch time of the Starlink Group 6-10 mission.
Update (20:10 EDT/0010 UTC):
SpaceX has adjusted the launch time of the Starlink Group 6-10 mission. The new T-0 is now 23:36 EDT (0336 UTC Aug 17). If needed, they have another backup option in this window on August 17. 12:00 p.m. EDT (0400 UTC).
Thick clouds remain over the Cape as thunderstorms continue to push east across Central Florida.
Photo of SpaceX’s Starlink V2 Mini satellites at the Cape Canaveral Payload Processing Facility. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX will launch Starlink missions from launch sites on the East and West coasts overnight Wednesday into Thursday. The Falcon 9 launches will be the 99th and 100th Starlink missions.
The first step is the launch of 22 Starlink V2 Mini satellites on a Falcon 9 rocket at Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 9:55 p.m. Wednesday. EDT (0155 UTC Thursday). This mission is called Starlink Group 6-10.
The booster supporting this East Coast mission, tail number B1067, will make its 13th flight after previously supporting two crewed missions to the International Space Station, two cargo missions, four commercial satellite missions and four previous Starlink missions.
Taking advantage of the launch opportunity, the 45th Air Squadron opened the window at 8:14 p.m. EDT (0014 UTC Thursday), initially set an 80 percent chance of severe weather. The forecast improves to a 35 percent chance of broken weather by the end of the window.
SpaceX decided to delay the launch from the start of the window on Wednesday afternoon. There are two more launch opportunities at 11:36 p.m. EDT (0336 UTC) and 12:00 p.m. EDT on Thursday, August 17 (0400 UTC).
The second mission, named Starlink Group 7-1, is scheduled to lift off Thursday at 12:01 p.m. PDT (3:01 a.m. EDT, 0701 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Falcon 9 will launch 21 Starlink satellites into an orbit tilted 53 degrees to the equator.
The first stage booster for Starlink’s 100th mission completes its 15th flight. He started his flying career in Florida but moved to the West Coast and made his Vandenberg debut in 2022. August. It launched the Crew-1, Crew-2, SXM-8, CRS-23, IXPE, Transporter-4, Transporter-5, Globalstar FM15 and ISI EROS C-3 missions, as well as five Starlink satellite launches.
Both planned launches will land their first-stage boosters on drone ships. The east coast mission will use “Lack of Gravity” and the west coast mission will land on “Sure I Still Love You”.
