Weather looks fantastic for SpaceX's next Falcon 9 launch and landing at the Cape Thursday

Jamie Groh, Florida Today
·2 min read
3

Space is important to us and that's why we're working to bring you top coverage of the industry and Florida launches. Journalism like this takes time and resources. Please support it with a subscription here.

---

Update: Launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 with 40 OneWeb satellites at 2:13 p.m. ET from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The first-stage booster successfully returned to the Cape's Landing Zone 1 a short time later. Read our full post-launch story here.

Space Coast weather is expected to be fantastic Thursday for SpaceX's mid-afternoon Falcon 9 liftoff, followed shortly by a sonic boom generated by a local booster landing attempt.

Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Launch Complex 40 will host the mission for OneWeb, slated to launch between 2:05 and 2:26 p.m. EST, while the first stage will attempt to touch down at Landing Zone 1 about eight minutes later. Weather conditions during the window are expected to be 95% "go."

"High pressure will build across the area for mid-week bringing fair conditions and onshore flow to the region," Space Launch Delta 45 forecasters said Tuesday. "Another system is expected to track across the Tennessee Valley late in the week, dragging another front towards the eastern Gulf of Mexico and Florida by Friday."

The only concern for Thursday's mission is a slight chance of cumulus cloud formation.

Relativity Space's first launch:Weather solid for first Terran 1 launch from Cape Canaveral

Hypersonic missiles:Department of Defense scrubs test at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

About eight minutes after liftoff, spectators should expect a sometimes startling, but mostly harmless, sonic boom generated just before the 162-foot booster touches down at LZ-1.

OneWeb, a competitor to SpaceX's Starlink internet service, builds and operates satellites that provide internet connectivity to hard-to-reach destinations. OneWeb's constellation, sporting just over 500 of the Merritt Island-built satellites, is much smaller than SpaceX's Starlink, which stands at over 3,500.

OneWeb's satellite internet service is targeted toward business users, while SpaceX's Starlink seeks a wider audience ranging from residential to military users.

Until last year's falling out with Russia over the war in Ukraine, OneWeb had been launching its satellites on Russian Soyuz rockets. Thursday's mission will mark the third time a SpaceX rocket has lofted the competitor satellites.

For the latest, visit floridatoday.com/launchschedule.

Jamie Groh is a space reporter for Florida Today. You can contact her at JGroh@floridatoday.com. Follow her on Twitter at @AlteredJamie.

Launch Thursday, March 9

  • Company / Agency: SpaceX for OneWeb

  • Rocket: SpaceX Falcon 9

  • Location: Pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

  • Launch Window: 2:05 p.m. - 2:26 p.m.

  • Trajectory: TBD

  • Weather: 95% "go"

  • Landing: Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

  • Live coverage: Starts 90 minutes before liftoff at floridatoday.com/space

  • About: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a batch of internet satellites on the third mission for OneWeb from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. A short time later, the Falcon 9 first-stage booster will attempt a landing at the Cape's Landing Zone 1, likely to generate local sonic booms.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Weather outlook for SpaceX Falcon 9 launch, landing in Cape Canaveral