SpaceX aims for Sunday launch of next Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral, Florida

SpaceX is preparing to send a Falcon 9 rocket skyward on Sunday, Dec. 7, from NASAs Kennedy Space Center. The launch is scheduled within a four-hour window, from late afternoon into the evening, under mostly cloudy skies.

The Falcon 9 is expected to lift off from pad 39A between 4:40 p.m. and 8:40 p.m., carrying 29 Starlink broadband satellites into low-Earth orbit along a southeasterly path. This mission, named Starlink 6-92, will become the 104th orbital rocket launch from Floridas Space Coast this year, surpassing the previous record of 93 launches set in 2024.

Meteorologists forecast a 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station after 1 p.m. on Sunday. The day is expected to remain mostly cloudy, with temperatures near 79F and winds shifting from east-northeast at 510 mph to southwest later in the afternoon.

This launch will use a Falcon 9 first-stage booster for the 32nd time. The booster has previously supported missions including CRS-22, Crew-3, Crew-4, CRS-25, Turksat 5B, Eutelsat HOTBIRD 13G, SES O3B mPOWER-A, PSN SATRIA, Telkomsat Merah Putih 2, Galileo L13, Koreasat-6A, and 20 prior Starlink flights.

After liftoff, the booster is scheduled to return and land on the SpaceX drone ship Just Read the Instructions in the Atlantic Ocean.

Live coverage of the Starlink launch will be available about 90 minutes before the opening of the launch window.

Looking ahead, SpaceX has another Falcon 9 launch scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 9, at 2:16 p.m. This mission, NROL-77, is a national security launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station for the Space Forces Space Systems Command and the National Reconnaissance Office.

Author: Maya Henderson