SpaceX rocket launch recap: Live updates from April 24 Starlink mission from Cape Canaveral

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25-04-2025

Launch recap: Scroll down to review live updates from from Cape Canaveral on the Starlink 6-74 mission.
Original story: Look for another SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to take flight tonight amid scattered clouds and highly favorable launch weather from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Welcome to FLORIDA TODAY Space Team live coverage of tonight's SpaceX Starlink 6-74 mission. SpaceX is targeting 9:52 p.m. for liftoff from Launch Complex 40.
The Falcon 9 will deploy a payload of 28 Starlink internet-beaming satellites, which are packed inside the fairing atop the 230-foot rocket.
No Central Florida sonic booms should occur during this mission. Rather, after soaring skyward along a southeasterly trajectory, the rocket's first-stage booster will target landing aboard a SpaceX drone ship out at sea a bit more than eight minutes after liftoff.
The Space Force's 45th Weather Squadron pegged the odds of "go for launch" weather at greater than 95%, citing a warm, dry weather pattern throughout the remainder of the week at the spaceport.
Cape Canaveral: Is there a launch today? Upcoming SpaceX, NASA rocket launch schedule at Cape Canaveral
Countdown Timer
Update 10:01 p.m.: The Falcon 9 first-stage booster just landed aboard SpaceX's drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean, completing its 23rd mission.
Update 9:52 p.m.: Liftoff! SpaceX has just launched the rocket carrying 28 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Update 9:47 p.m.: SpaceX's launch webcast is now posted above, right below our countdown clock.
Liftoff is scheduled in five minutes from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Update 9:42 p.m.: Tonight's mission marks this Falcon 9 first-stage booster's 23rd flight, SpaceX reported.
The booster previously launched CRS-24, Eutelsat HOTBIRD 13F, OneWeb 1, SES-18 and SES-19, and 18 Starlink missions.
Following stage separation, crews expect the booster to land on the SpaceX drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean 8 minutes, 27 seconds after liftoff.
Update 9:32 p.m.: National Weather Service radar from the Melbourne Orlando International Airport station shows the Space Coast remains free of meaningful cloud cover ahead of the upcoming SpaceX Falcon 9 launch.
Liftoff is scheduled in 20 minutes.
Update 9:21 p.m.: Falcon 9 fueling procedures are now underway at Launch Complex 40, indicated by white water vapor billowing near the lower third of the rocket.
That means the Starlink mission countdown is now locked in to lift off at 9:52 p.m. without any delays, or else tonight's launch must be postponed to a later date.
Update 9:10 p.m.: Earlier today, Blue Origin crews conducted a New Glenn rocket upper-stage engine test at Launch Complex 36, just south of SpaceX's twin Falcon booster landing zones.
"Today, we completed a full duration 15-second hotfire test of the upper stage for our NG-2 mission. This time, we achieved enhanced performance from the BE-3U engine, increasing the maximum thrust from 173,000 lbf to 175,000 lbf per engine, further expanding New Glenn's capabilities for our customers," Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp said in a tweet.
Update 9 p.m.: Here's a rundown of SpaceX's upcoming behind-the-scenes Falcon 9 launch countdown timeline. T-minus:
38 minutes: SpaceX launch director verifies 'go' for propellant load.
35 minutes: Rocket-grade kerosene and first-stage liquid oxygen loading begins.
16 minutes: Second-stage liquid oxygen loading begins.
7 minutes: Falcon 9 begins engine chill prior to launch.
1 minute: Command flight computer begins final prelaunch checks; propellant tank pressurization to flight pressure begins.
45 seconds: SpaceX launch director verifies 'go' for launch.
3 seconds: Engine controller commands engine ignition sequence to start.
0 seconds: Liftoff.
Update 8:45 p.m.: Brevard County Emergency Management officials have activated the agency's launch operations support team ahead of SpaceX's upcoming Falcon 9 launch.
Update 8:31 p.m.: Tonight's upcoming SpaceX launch is slated to become the 33rd of the year thus far from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's neighboring Kennedy Space Center.
Update 8:15 p.m.: Additional details from the 45th Weather Squadron's launch forecast:
"The Spaceport will remain in a warm and dry pattern throughout the remainder of the week asthe area remains under the influence of the broad and weak high over the western Atlantic. The axis of this feature will remain north of the area, bringing persistent low-level onshore flow," the forecast said.
"Aloft, the upper-level ridge will break down, allowing additional mid to high clouds to spill across the region late this week. Models continue to trend too high and cold with this layer to pose any launch weather concern," the forecast said.
For the latest news and launch schedule from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit floridatoday.com/space.
Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at [e-mail]. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1
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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: SpaceX launch recap: Live updates from April 24 Starlink night mission