SpaceX will launch a large communications satellite into orbit tonight (May 23), weather permitting, and you can watch the action live.
A Falcon 9 rocket surmounted by the Arabsat BADR-8 satellite should take off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida tonight at 11:25 p.m. EDT (03:25 GMT on May 24).
Watch it live here on Space.com, courtesy of SpaceXor directly through the company. Coverage should begin approximately 15 minutes before launch.
Mother Nature may not cooperate, however; the Monday afternoon forecast (May 22) called for only 25% favorable weather at the time of liftoff, SpaceX wrote in a job description. If tonight’s tryout is cancelled, the next opportunity will open Wednesday at the same time.
Related: 8 Ways SpaceX Transformed Spaceflight
If all goes as planned, the Falcon 9 first stage will return to Earth safely about eight minutes and 45 seconds after takeoff. The booster will land on the SpaceX Just Read the Instructions drone, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida.
This will be the 14th mission for this particular Falcon 9 first stage, according to the SpaceX mission description. Among these previous flights are two private astronaut missions, those of September 2021 inspiration4 and April 2022 Axe-1.
Ax-1, which was operated by a Houston-based company Axiom space, sent four people to the International Space Station for a stay of about two weeks. SpaceX just launched Axiom’s second mission, Axe-2sending its four crew members to the orbital laboratory atop a Falcon 9 on Sunday (May 22).
By the way, fourteen flights is not a SpaceX reuse record. The current rating is 15, fixed last december on a mission that raised the company’s jackpot Stellar Link Internet satellites.
Arabsat BADR-8 weighs approximately 9,900 pounds (4,500 kilograms), according to EverydayAstronaut.com. The satellite is intended for geostationary orbit, about 22,200 miles (35,700 kilometers) above Earth.
It will take four to five months for the satellite to reach its operational orbit. Once there and fully verified, BADR-8 will broadcast TV broadcasting and other telecommunications services to Central Africa, Europe and the Middle East for Saudi Arabia-based Arabsat, EverydayAstronaut wrote. .com.