Everything to know about Starlink launch from Cape Canaveral

Another SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will lift off Monday morning — but will dense fog thwart the view for launch spectators across Florida’s Space Coast?

Stay tuned. SpaceX is now targeting 5:54 a.m. EST to launch the Falcon 9 from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on the Starlink 12-3 mission. Backup launch opportunities are available until 7:42 a.m., if needed.

The rocket’s upper stage will deploy a batch of Starlink internet satellites into low-Earth orbit. After soaring along a southeasterly trajectory, the first-stage booster will target landing aboard a SpaceX drone ship out in the Atlantic Ocean.

The Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron predicted a 95% chance of “go for launch” weather. However, the National Weather Service is warning Monday morning motorists of dense, patchy fog in areas of East-Central Florida that will reduce visibility to less than one mile — and down to ¼ mile at times.

Check back for live FLORIDA TODAY Space Team launch coverage updates on this page, starting about 90 minutes before the liftoff target time. When SpaceX’s live webcast begins about five minutes before liftoff, look for it posted below next to our countdown clock.

Then Monday evening, SpaceX will target a one-hour window from 6:32 p.m. to 7:32 p.m. to launch another Falcon 9 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. That rocket will deploy a pair of WorldView Legion imagery satellites — and trigger sonic booms when the booster descends to land at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Countdown Timer

For the latest news and launch schedule from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and KSC, visit floridatoday.com/space.

Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at [email protected]. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1

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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: SpaceX launch Monday morning: What to know before liftoff from the Cape