Launch recap: Scroll down to review live updates from the Tuesday, Feb. 4, liftoff of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral on the Starlink 12-3 mission.
Original story: Take two: After postponing an initial attempt Monday morning, SpaceX crews are now targeting 5:15 a.m. EST Tuesday to launch the latest Starlink mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station -- where patchy, dense fog is forming.
Welcome to FLORIDA TODAY Space Team live coverage of this morning's SpaceX Starlink 12-3 mission. The Falcon 9 rocket will take flight from Launch Complex 40, carrying a batch of 21 Starlink internet satellites into low-Earth orbit.
Backup launch opportunities are available until 6:24 a.m., should delays arise. No Central Florida sonic booms are expected during this Starlink 12-3 mission. After soaring skyward along a southeasterly trajectory, the rocket's first-stage booster will target landing aboard a SpaceX drone ship out at sea.
Visibility for Space Coast launch spectators could be iffy. A National Weather Service dense fog advisory remains in effect overnight until 10 a.m. Tuesday for northern Brevard County and coastal Volusia County, with visibility dipping to less than ¼ mile in some areas.
Then Tuesday evening, SpaceX will target a one-hour launch window opening at 6:07 p.m. to launch a different Falcon 9 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. That rocket will deploy the third pair of Maxar Space Systems-built WorldView Legion high-resolution imagery satellites into orbit. FLORIDA TODAY's Space Team will also blog that mission.
Countdown Timer
Update 5:33 a.m.: On the heels of this successful launch, SpaceX will target another 60-minute launch window that opens at 6:07 p.m. to launch another Falcon 9 from NASA's neighboring Kennedy Space Center.
That 229-foot rocket will deploy the third pair of Maxar Space Systems-built WorldView Legion high-resolution imagery satellites into orbit.
Update 5:23 a.m.: The Falcon 9 first-stage booster just landed aboard SpaceX's drone ship Just Read the Instructions in the Atlantic Ocean, completing its 21st mission.
Update 5:15 a.m.: Liftoff! SpaceX has just launched the Falcon 9 carrying 21 Starlink satellites from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Update 5:10 a.m.: SpaceX's launch webcast is now posted above, right below our countdown clock.
Liftoff is scheduled in five minutes from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Update 5:01 a.m.: This morning's mission marks the Falcon 9 first-stage booster's 21st flight, SpaceX reported.
The booster previously launched OneWeb 1, SES 18+19, Eutelsat HOTBIRD-F1, CRS-24 and 16 Starlink missions.
Following stage separation, crews expect the booster to land on the SpaceX drone ship Just Read the Instructions in the Atlantic Ocean 8 minutes, 9 seconds after liftoff.
Update 4:52 a.m.: SpaceX crews should be fueling the Falcon 9 as we speak -- but thick fog is obscuring views of Launch Complex 40 and its telltale signs, such as billowing white vapor and frost forming near the rocket's base.
The company no longer publicly announces when fueling begins during Starlink missions.
Update 4:46 a.m.: FLORIDA TODAY Photographer/Videographer Craig Bailey snapped this fog-cloaked shot of NASA's nearly obscured Vehicle Assembly Building from the Kennedy Space Center Press Site.
Update 4:30 a.m.: Here's a rundown of SpaceX's upcoming behind-the-scenes countdown timeline. T-minus:
Update 4:22 a.m.: Brevard County Emergency Management officials have activated the agency's launch operations support team ahead of SpaceX's upcoming Falcon 9 launch.
Update 4:15 a.m.: Last week, Scandinavian Airlines officials announced Starlink high-speed Wi-Fi internet service will roll out fleet-wide late this year, free of charge to all passengers.
"Starlink will soon be available on all @SAS flights for passengers and crew, even while flying over the Atlantic Ocean, North Sea and North Pole," SpaceX Vice President of Launch Kiko Dontchev said in a tweet.
Update 4:04 a.m.: Dense fog aside, a National Weather Service radar loop from the Melbourne Orlando International Airport shows Central Florida is free of significant cloud cover.
Back-to-back NWS dense fog advisories have now been declared Monday morning and this morning.
Update 3:50 a.m.: The Space Force's 45th Weather Squadron pinned the odds of favorable launch weather at 95% -- but will Space Coast spectators even be able to see the rising rocket?
"Patchy, dense fog and low ceilings are likely to remain an issue through Tuesday morning as astalled boundary remains near central Florida," the squadron's forecast said.
The squadron did not state fog was a weather concern that could scrub the launch.
For the latest news and launch schedule from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit floridatoday.com/space.
Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at [email protected]. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1
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