CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – What does a perfect rocket launch day look like? Look no further than Wednesday’s forecast for Florida’s Space Coast, with ideal conditions for SpaceX to launch a navigation satellite for the U.S. Space Force.
Florida’s forecast is offering a nearly perfect day for SpaceX to launch the next Falcon 9 rocket planned for Wednesday morning.
Weather is the primary reason for launch scrubs, but roughly two out of three attempts launch on time.
A Falcon 9 is poised to launch Wednesday at 7:10 a.m. EST from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station carrying the sixth GPS III navigational satellite for Space Force.
The launch forecast issued by the 45th Weather Squadron is as close to perfect as it gets for a rocket launch. Launch weather officers are forecasting greater than a 90% chance of favorable launch conditions.
According to the launch forecast, dry air and mild temperatures are dominating the Florida east coast forecast this week. A cold front will stall out north of the launch site on Wednesday, keeping the forecast in SpaceX’s favor.
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After a cool start to the week, Florida will see the warmer winter temperatures the Sunshine State is known for by the end of the week. Wednesday will still be chilly by any Floridian’s standards, starting out in the upper 50s and 60s.
Liftoff winds will be light between 7 and 12 mph. The primary weather concern will be a few cumulus clouds near the range.
SpaceX also plans to land the Falcon 9 rocket booster on a droneship in the Atlantic Ocean. The booster will touch down about 8 minutes after liftoff and be re-flown on a future launch. Booster recovery weather risk is moderate, according to the forecast.
The booster supporting this mission previously launched four astronauts in October as part of the Crew-5 mission to the International Space Station.
This marks the sixth GPS III satellite built by Lockheed Martin for the U.S. Space Force.
The satellite is part of the Space Force’s effort to modernize its GPS satellite constellation, which is used by more than 4 billion users globally.
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GPS is owned and operated by Space Force and provides navigation to everyday people, as well as position, navigation and timing signals for agriculture industries, warfighters and more.
In all, Lockheed Martin will build 32 new GPS satellites to complete the new constellation. Wednesday’s launch marks the fifth GPS III satellite launched by SpaceX.