SpaceX delays Cape Canaveral launch and landing a third time due to weather

Emre Kelly, Florida Today
·2 min read

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Update: This launch was scrubbed yet again on Sunday due to a cruise ship entering the mission's exclusion zone. The next attempt is set for 6:11 p.m. EST Monday, Jan. 31. See live updates here and our constantly updated launch calendar here.

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SpaceX delayed the launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station a third time Saturday, citing the same reason as before – inclement weather – for the push.

"Due to weather in Florida affecting pre-launch operations, now targeting Sunday, January 30, at 6:11 p.m. EST for launch of COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation FM2," the company said Saturday afternoon via Twitter.

Two previous attempts on Thursday and Friday had to be scrubbed due to precipitation and thick clouds hovering over Launch Complex 40. Additional constraints like booster recovery and upper-level winds were concerns, too.

Sunday's attempt, however, looks much better: the Space Force said conditions should be nearly 100% "go" for liftoff of the 230-foot rocket.

"Windy conditions today will rapidly diminish this evening, then remain light tomorrow into Monday," Space Launch Delta 45 forecasters said Saturday. "With atmospheric moisture unseasonably scarce, few clouds are expected."

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Launch Complex 40 with the CSG-2 mission on Friday, Jan 28, 2022. The second attempt to launch was scrubbed due to poor weather.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Launch Complex 40 with the CSG-2 mission on Friday, Jan 28, 2022. The second attempt to launch was scrubbed due to poor weather.

About nine minutes after liftoff, the rocket's162-foot first stage will fly back to land at the Cape's Landing Zone 1, generating sonic booms that will be heard across the Space Coast and Central Florida. They are startling but harmless.

COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation, or CSG-2, will launch an Earth observation satellite for the Italian Space Agency that uses radar to gather intelligence on surface activities.

SpaceX also confirmed a 24-hour delay for the mission following CSG-2: teams at Kennedy Space Center's pad 39A have two opportunities – 2:17 p.m. or 5:34 p.m. EST Monday, Jan. 31 – to launch the company's 37th batch of Starlink internet satellites. The opportunities do not represent a window; SpaceX must launch exactly on time during either one of those and not in between.

Weather for the Starlink launch, according to the Space Force, also looks good at 90% "go."

For the latest, visit floridatoday.com/launchschedule.

Contact Emre Kelly at aekelly@floridatoday.com or 321-242-3715. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @EmreKelly.

Rocket launch on Sunday, Jan. 30

  • Rocket: SpaceX Falcon 9

  • Mission: COSMO-SkyMed Earth observation satellite

  • Launch Time: 6:11 p.m. EST

  • Trajectory: Southeast

  • Landing: Landing Zone 1

  • Weather: 90% "go"

Visit floridatoday.com/space at 4:30 p.m. EST Sunday, Jan. 30, for live updates and video.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: SpaceX delays Cape Canaveral launch, landing third time due to weather