SpaceX is preparing to launch its latest batch of Starlink satellites for its internet megaconstellation shortly after midnight on Tuesday.
A Falcon 9 rocket is set to launch the Starlink 13-1 mission from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 12:24 a.m. EST (0524 UTC).
Spaceflight Now will have live coverage beginning about an hour prior to liftoff.
On Monday, the 45th Weather Squadron forecast conditions to go from good to poor across the launch window on Tuesday. Meteorologists suggested that conditions at the opening of the window will be about 85 percent favorable for liftoff, but deteriorate to 40 percent by the of the window.
“The forecast question for the primary launch window late tonight will be how quickly clouds and rain return to the area as the old frontal boundary lifts back to the north,” launch weather officers wrote. “There remains good model agreement that the highest rain chances hold off until after the end of the window, but still expect increasing clouds and showers to creep in from the south, especially for the back half of the window.
“With this setup, the main weather concern is likely to be Thick Cloud Layers, with a smaller embedded Cumulus Cloud threat as rain coverage increases late.”
If SpaceX ends up not being able to launch Tuesday morning, the 24-hour backup window has drastically worse weather, with just a 10 percent chance of favorable conditions.
The Falcon 9 first stage booster, tail number B1083, will used to launch the mission. It’s previous missions included the launches of Crew-8, Polaris Dawn and CRS-31.
After launching for an eighth time, B1083 will target a landing on the SpaceX droneship, ‘A Shortfall of Gravias,’ which is positioned out in the Atlantic Ocean. If successful, this will be the 95 landing for ASOG and the 399th booster landing to date.
The Starlink 13-1 mission will be SpaceX’s fifth dedicated Starlink launch of the year and its ninth orbital launch in 2025.
