Unfavorable weather conditions in Cape Canaveral on Friday, November 12, have led SpaceX to postpone the latest flight of its Starlink satellites. They are instead targeting its backup launch date on Saturday morning, November 13, which will be broadcast live starting 15 minutes before its takeoff.
A Falcon 9 rocket carrying SpaceX’s Starlink L-23 payload launches from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla., April 7, 2021. This marked the tenth Falcon 9 launch this year and the third time a first stage flew a seventh mission. (U.S. Space Force photo by Airman First Class Thomas Sjoberg)
Weather Forecast to Improve 80% on Saturday's Launch
SpaceX's latest flight on Friday at 7:41 am EST from Florida was supposed to launch 53 Starlink satellites that would add to their expanding fleet, according to Space.com. This will be the company's 15th dedicated Starlink mission of 2021 and the 25th overall for the SpaceX mission this year.
However, the California-based rocket builder announced on its Twitter account an hour before the takeoff that it was standing down due to rainy conditions and instead will try to launch on Saturday.
"Standing down from today's launch due to weather. Forecast improves to 80% favorable for tomorrow's launch opportunity at 7:19 a.m. EST," SpaceX wrote on Twitter.
Veteran Falcon 9 rocket will be sending the artificial satellites to space, having three flights under its belt, and is set to make its fourth trip. Previously, it launched two different upgraded GPS III satellites for the US Space Force and launched the Inspiration4 for a three-day orbital expedition.
SpaceX had a busy week as it returned Crew-2 mission astronauts from the International Space Station on Monday, then launched Crew-3 mission on Wednesday, and the delayed flight would have been their second.
Weather forecast initially predicted a 60% chance of favorable weather for Friday, but officials have said that Saturday is expected to be much favorable with an 80% chance of good weather.
How Does Weather Affect Space Launch?
Everyone in the launch team would carefully check every piece of equipment to ensure that the rocket and everything would work according to plan during the launch date. The Franklin Institute explains on their website that every controllable aspect of the flight has been prepared, including astronauts and flight path, but not the weather.
Ideally, clear skies and still winds provide the safest conditions for a space flight but that is not always the case. Flight directors already have a list of prohibitive weather conditions that might threaten the safety of the launch.
For example, light winds are considered acceptable, but a wind speed of 30 miles per hour at 162 feet level of the launch tower would be a violation of weather criteria for launch. That means a rocket launch would be considered unsafe because it might push the rocket off-course.
Furthermore, flight directors also measure sky electricity associated with thunderstorms. A flight is suspended when the edge of a thunderstorm that produced lightning in the last 30 minutes is within 10 miles of the launch site.
These are just two of the 14 weather conditions that the team carefully monitors to ensure the safest flight conditions for the Falcon 9 rocket. If these conditions are not met, the team will postpone the launch to a better day. Here is the list of all 14 weather conditions that flight meteorologists follow every spaceflight launch.
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