Florida's Space Coast is home to NASA's Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, where a record 72 orbital launches took place last year.
Officials expect that number to approach 100 launches this year, led by SpaceX. The launches of the company's Starlink Internet satellite constellation will comprise the bulk of that total.
Here are the latest assignments coming from the Cape. All launches are listed in Eastern Standard Time. Attention: Dates and times are routinely subject to change for a variety of reasons.
For questions or comments, email FLORIDA TODAY space reporter Rick Neale at [email protected]. For more space news, visit floridatoday.com/space.
Sunday, January 28: SpaceX Starlink 6-38
Although SpaceX has not yet announced this mission publicly, a navigation warning from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency indicates that the launch window for the rocket will open Sunday night. More details:
- a task: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a constellation of Starlink internet satellites.
- Launch window: 6:04 to 10:35 p.m
- a path: southeast.
- Local sonic boom: no.
- Booster landing: Drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.
- Live coverage: Starts 90 minutes before takeoff at floridatoday.com/space.
Monday, January 29: SpaceX NG-20 International Space Station resupply mission
- a task: NASA, Northrop Grumman and SpaceX will collaborate on a resupply mission to the International Space Station using a Falcon 9 rocket and Cygnus spacecraft.
- launch: 12:30 pm
- location: Launch of Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
- Live coverage: It starts 90 minutes before take-off floridatoday.com/space.
Tuesday, February 6: NASA PACE spacecraft
- a task: NASA's PACE observatory — short for Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, Ocean Ecosystem — will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and will collect “enormous amounts of data” on the chemical composition, movement and interaction of airborne particles and clouds by scanning the Earth with polarimeters. every two days.
- Launch window: To be determined later.
- location: Launch of Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
- Live coverage: Starts 90 minutes before takeoff at floridatoday.com/space.
Mid-February: NASA-SpaceX Crew-8 mission
- a task: NASA's eighth orbital mission of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon Endeavor spacecraft will carry astronauts to the International Space Station on a scientific expedition.
- Launch window: To be determined later.
- location: Kennedy Space Center.
- Live coverage: Starts two hours before takeoff at floridatoday.com/space.
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