Just as yesterday’s article about upcoming launches noted the possibilities of dates changing:
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 was scheduled to launch 24 Starlink Group 17-12 smallsats on Wednesday to the Starlink constellation in a polar, low-Earth orbit from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, but was scrubbed due to poor weather conditions. The launch originally scheduled for Wednesday, September 17th was delayed and is now targeting no earlier than Thursday, September 18th, at 8:41 a.m. PDT.
It’s a good possibility that Thursday’s projected launch may be scrubbed again as the cloud cover will be 100% according to weather officials, there’s a 65% chance of favorable weather conditions at the time of the launch. Officials are monitoring weather conditions with concerns related to Cumulus Cloud Rule. The forecast calls for a temperature of 77°F, light rain, 100% cloud cover, a wind speed of 2mph and 0.48in of rain.
This is the 10th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched NROL-126, Transporter-12, SPHEREx, NROL-57, and five Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship, which will be stationed in the Pacific Ocean.
There is the possibility that residents of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura counties may hear one or more sonic booms during the launch, but what residents experience will depend on weather and other conditions.
