Update 8:24 a.m. ET: SpaceX has canceled the mission before launch. Teams are targeting Starlink 10-7 to launch on Monday, Aug. 12.
Less than a minute before launch, SpaceX announced the Starlink 10-7 mission was aborted. The call came just seconds after the mission’s launch director said they were “going to launch.”
The Falcon 9 flight was the second of three planned launches over the weekend. SpaceX is now targeting a launch no later than 6:37 a.m. EDT (10:37 GMT) from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
Spaceflight Now will have live coverage starting about an hour before liftoff.
In a post-cancellation statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, SpaceX did not specify the reason for the cancellation, only stating that “the vehicle and payload are in good condition and the teams are repositioning for a launch attempt on Monday, August 12.” They also noted that Space Norway’s planned launch of its Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission (ASBM) satellite remains on track for a launch Sunday night from California.
The Falcon 9 first-stage booster supporting the Starlink mission, with tail number B1073, will launch for the 17th time. It has previously launched the ispace Hakuto-R lunar lander, the joint Bandwagon-1 flight, and 11 Starlink missions.
About eight and a half minutes after liftoff, B1073 will land on SpaceX’s “A Shortfall of Gravitas” drone ship. This will be the 79th booster to land on ASOG and the 337th booster to land to date.
As the launch date approaches on Sunday, 45th Meteorological Squadron is forecasting a 90% chance of good weather for liftoff during the launch periods on Sunday and Monday.
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