SpaceX delayed late night Starlink launch for weather

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is ready to launch Starlink satellites from the company’s launch complex at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on March 9th. Photo using SpaceX

However, the start was pushed back to a new target start of 12:42 pm “due to adverse weather”, the company said in a statement.

The liftoff time is timely, meaning any issues could lead to a delay of around 24 hours until Saturday night.

The launch comes as Musk and SpaceX have made several deliveries of Starlink terminals to the Ukrainian government to use as they defend against a Russian military invasion.

Mykhailo Fedorov, Vice President of Ukraine, tweeted on Friday that his government has received another of several broadcasts from the terminals that allow access to high-speed Internet via more than 2,000 Starlink satellites in orbit.

“A new batch of Starlink stations! While Russia blocks access to the Internet, Ukraine will be more open to the whole world. Ukraine is the truth. The truth always wins. Thank you, @elonmusk, The Government of Poland “In Orlen,” Fedorov tweeted.

Orlen apparently refers to a Polish gas and oil company involved in Ukraine.

Earlier on Friday, the weather had a 30% chance of hurting launch conditions, according to a US Space Force forecast.

“Showers will decrease as they reach the coast,” the forecast said, adding that cumulus clouds pose the biggest potential issue for the launch.

The first stage booster for the rocket will fly for the 12th time after completing eight Starlink missions, the SpaceX Demo-1 unmanned test flight to the International Space Station, the launch of the Canadian RADARSAT spacecraft and the Sirius SXM -7 Satellite.

SpaceX wants to recover the booster after launch by landing robotically on an unmanned drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.