UPDATE: SpaceX is targeting Friday December 15 for a Falcon 9 launch of 21 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Liftoff is targeted for 12:30 a.m. PT, with backup opportunities available until 12:37 a.m. PT. If needed, additional opportunities are also available on Friday, December 15 starting at 9:19 p.m. PT.
The launch will include the first six Starlink satellites that feature direct-to-cell capabilities. SpaceX stated that the new function “will enable mobile network operators around the world to provide seamless global access to texting, calling and browsing… on land, lakes or coastal waters.”
Weather may be preventing the launch of Starlinks from Florida, but SpaceX is targeting Thursday, December 14 for a Falcon 9 launch of 21 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Liftoff is targeted for 9:04 p.m. PT, with backup opportunities available until 12:37 a.m. PT on Friday, December 15. If needed, additional opportunities are also available on Friday, December 15 starting at 9:19 p.m. PT. 737 rockets have launched from Vandenberg SFB, California.
The forecast calls for a temperature of 58°F, scattered clouds, 40% cloud cover and a wind speed of 1mph.
At a cost of $52,000,000 the launch may take place from 9:04 p.m. – 1:24 a.m. PST(11:59 p.m. – 4:24 a.m. EST, 0459-0924 UTC). The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on the drone ship ‘Of Course I Still Love You’ in the Pacific Ocean.
The second autonomous spaceport drone ship (ASDS) barge, Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) services launches in the Pacific Ocean and was the site of the first landing of a SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage during CRS-8, the launch of a Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station. SpaceX commissioned the building of ASDS to allow for recovery of rocket first-stages at sea for high-velocity missions that do not carry enough fuel to return to the launch site after lofting spacecraft onto an orbital trajectory.
