SpaceX is set to launch and land a Falcon 9 rocket at 9:56 a.m. Tuesday from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on a mission with 114 customer payloads.
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About eight and a half minutes after liftoff, the 230-foot Falcon 9 first-stage booster — flying for a record-tying 15th time — is expected to return for a landing attempt at Cape Canaveral's Landing Zone 1 bringing with it window-rattling sonic booms. The mission is SpaceX's sixth for its Transporter program. The rideshare missions feature payload dispensers that host many small satellites. It's a way to split costs and make launching smaller satellites more affordable. Tuesday's mission features a total of 114 customer payloads that will deploy in similar orbits over the course of an hour and a half.
Over the weekend, forecasters with the U.S. Space Force predicted an 80% chance of"go" liftoff weather conditions. The only concerns are a slight chance of clouds and wind that could be dragged in ahead of a mid-week frontal system. "Weather concerns for the primary launch attempt are the Cumulus Cloud Rule due to a chance for fast, onshore-moving Atlantic showers, as well as Liftoff Winds," forecasters said in a weekend report. Should SpaceX need a backup launch opportunity, it would be Wednesday, Jan. 4, around the same time. Weather conditions are expected to remain nearly the same.