Updates: SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 and a Spanish communications satellite from Cape Canaveral
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Update: Liftoff of Falcon 9 at 8:32 p.m. EST! The rocket boosted Hispasat's Amazonas Nexus communications satellite to orbit then landed on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. Read our full post-launch story here.
Follow live updates as SpaceX targets 8:32 p.m. ET on Monday, Feb. 6, for the launch of a 230-foot Falcon 9 rocket from Pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Secured in the rocket's payload fairing is Amazonas Nexus, a roughly 10,000-pound commercial communications satellite owned by Spanish operator Hispasat. Once in orbit some 22,300 miles above Earth, it will provide coverage to the Americas, Greenland, and the north and south Atlantic.
After liftoff Sunday, the 230-foot rocket will fly an eastern trajectory before touchdown on the Just Read the Instructions drone ship. Payload deployment is expected about 35 minutes after liftoff.
Weather conditions are expected to be 95% "go" for liftoff, according to Space Launch Delta 45 forecasters with the U.S. Space Force.
For the latest, visit floridatoday.com/launchschedule.
Updates from Monday's event below:
The Falcon 9 has landed
8:41 p.m.: The Falcon 9 first-stage booster has landed on the Just Read the Instructions drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.
Liftoff!
8:32 p.m.: The SpaceX Falcon 9 has lifted off from Pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
T-minus five minutes
8:27 p.m.: Less than five minutes remaining until the 8:32 p.m. liftoff attempt of a Falcon 9 from Pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Here's a look at the post-launch timeline:
00:01:12 Max Q (moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket)
00:02:30 1st stage main engine cutoff (MECO)
00:02:33 1st and 2nd stages separate
00:02:41 2nd stage engine starts (SES-1)
00:03:29 Fairing deploy
00:06:06 1st stage entry burn begins
00:06:36 1st stage entry burn ends
00:08:03 1st stage landing burn begins
00:08:06 2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO-1)
00:08:30 1st stage landing
00:26:41 2nd stage engine starts (SES-2)
00:27:43 2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO-2)
00:35:44 Hispasat’s Amazonas Nexus deploys
Under 10 minutes until launch
8:22 p.m.: Everything continues to proceed as expected with the fueling of the Falcon 9 ahead of a 8:32 p.m. liftoff. Here are the remaining milestones for the rest of the countdown:
00:07:00 Falcon 9 begins engine chill prior to launch
00:01:00 Command flight computer to begin final prelaunch checks
00:01:00 Propellant tank pressurization to flight pressure begins
00:00:45 SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for launch
00:00:03 Engine controller commands engine ignition sequence to start
00:00:00 Falcon 9 liftoff
"Go" for fueling
7:57 p.m.: SpaceX is proceeding with loading the Falcon 9 with propellant ahead of this evening's 8:32 p.m. EST liftoff attempt.
One hour until liftoff
7:32 p.m.: Now just one hour remaining until liftoff. SpaceX continues to countdown to an 8:32 p.m. liftoff attempt and the weather remains favorable.
Welcome back to live coverage
7:02 p.m.: Welcome back to live coverage as we track SpaceX's countdown to launch this evening in just 90 minutes. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 from Pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is targeted for 8:32 p.m. ET. Should SpaceX need it, the launch window does extend until 9:32 p.m. ET. The weather, currently, still looks great for liftoff.
New launch time
5:06 p.m.: SpaceX confirms a new targeted liftoff time of 8:32 p.m. EST, a delay of three hours due to vehicle checkouts.
Expect the liftoff time to be adjusted
5:02 p.m.: Now within 30 minutes of the launch window opening and still no word from SpaceX about the status of fueling the Falcon 9 yet. For a 5:32 p.m. liftoff, fueling would already have to be underway. That appears not to be the case.
Reminder, today's window extends four hours until 9:32 p.m. EST.
Under one hour until launch window opens
4:35 p.m.: Now under one hour until the opening of today's launch window. As a reminder, SpaceX has about four hours available to launch today's mission for Hispasat. No word just yet from SpaceX about the targeted launch time. As soon as that can be confirmed, we will provide an update. Stay tuned.
Welcome to live coverage
4:02 p.m.: Good afternoon and welcome to live coverage of today's SpaceX Falcon 9 launch of the Hispasat Amazonas Nexus communications satellite.
SpaceX is counting down to a launch attempt this afternoon at 5:32 p.m. from Pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Right now, the weather looks great for an on-time liftoff. Conditions are mostly sunny with a slight breeze. Space Force forecasters previously predicted weather conditions to be 95% "go" throughout today's window which lasts for about four hours. Recovery conditions were listed at low to moderate risk.
Stay tuned.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Updates: SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Spanish satellite Cape Canaveral launch
