SpaceX and Boeing Launch Updates
After a successful weekend of rocket launches, SpaceX is gearing up for its next Falcon 9 launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, with a target window opening Thursday night. The mission, known as Starlink 6-55, is set to deploy a batch of Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit.
According to navigational warnings issued by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the launch window is scheduled to open at 9:17 p.m. EDT on Thursday, extending until 1:48 a.m. Friday.
The Falcon 9 rocket will follow a southeasterly trajectory from Launch Complex 40. Weather forecasts for Thursday night predict mostly clear skies, with a low around 69°F and a southeast wind of 5 to 10 mph at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Looking ahead to Monday, Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is slated to embark on its maiden flight test voyage with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams aboard. Their United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket will lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station en route to the International Space Station.
If Thursday’s Starlink 6-55 mission proceeds as planned, it will mark the 33rd orbital launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA’s neighboring Kennedy Space Center in the first four months of 2024. The current pace suggests a potential total of 99 launches for the year, surpassing last year’s record of 72.
SpaceX has been leading the charge, with 30 launches already completed this year. Meanwhile, United Launch Alliance conducted the other two launches: the inaugural Vulcan mission on January 8 and the final Delta IV Heavy mission on April 9.
