The launch of an Italian satellite and SpaceX’s next Starlink fleet mission have been postponed multiple times.
Due to inclement weather, SpaceX postponed two back-to-back rocket launches from Florida on Saturday (Jan. 29). Bad weather resulted in previous delays in the last days.
The private spaceflight business had wanted to launch an Earth-observation satellite for Italy from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 6:11 p.m. EST (2311 GMT) on Saturday. Still, the mission was canceled due to inclement weather. It’s the third weather delay in as many days for SpaceX’s plan to launch the Cosmo-SkyMed Second Generation FM2 (CSG-2) satellite for the Italian Space Agency and military.
SpaceX stated in a Twitter post earlier Saturday that due to weather in Florida interfering with pre-launch activities, we are now targeting Sunday, Jan. 30 at 6:11 p.m. EST to launch COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation FM2 from SLC-40.
SpaceX fuelled the Falcon 9 rocket carrying CSG-2 on Friday, but the launch was canceled due to heavy clouds and high winds.
SpaceX Postpones Back-to-Back Falcon 9 Rocket Missions
The delays have had an impact on SpaceX’s missions. The Hawthorne, California-based business plans to launch its next set of Starlink broadband satellites from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, near the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. That mission was supposed to launch on Saturday afternoon, but it was pushed back to Sunday owing to the CSG-2 launch delay on Friday.
According to SpaceX officials, the Starlink mission will now launch no sooner than Monday (Jan. 31). On Feb. 2, the company will also launch a third rocket carrying the secret NROL-87 satellite for the US National Reconnaissance Office. That mission, which will take off from SpaceX’s pad at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, will be unaffected by Florida’s weather difficulties.
SpaceX tweeted Saturday said the Falcon 9 launch of Starlink from LC-39A has been moved to Monday, Jan. 31, and teams are also continuing to work toward the launch of NROL-87 from California on Wednesday, Feb. 2.
The weather forecast for SpaceX’s Florida operations on Sunday improves.
According to the most recent estimate from the United States Space Force’s Delta 45 group in Florida, there is less than a 10% probability of adverse weather impacting SpaceX’s CSG-2 satellite launch plans on Sunday. Similar circumstances are forecast on Monday, forcing the operation to be postponed for another 24 hours.
A second estimate for the Starlink mission anticipates a 90% likelihood of excellent weather on Monday, with a similar outlook for Tuesday (Feb. 1) if the mission is delayed. In addition to launch weather, SpaceX monitors weather at its land and drone ship landing locations to retrieve its reusable Falcon 9 first-stage rockets.
All three of SpaceX’s forthcoming launches will be streamed live.
SpaceX webcasts typically begin 15 to 20 minutes before liftoff and may be seen straight from the company’s website.
