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

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27-01-2025

Launch recap: Scroll down to review live updates from of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral on the Starlink 12-7 mission.
Original story: Welcome to FLORIDA TODAY Space Team live coverage of the evening-rush-hour SpaceX Starlink 12-7 mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
SpaceX is now targeting 5:05 p.m. EST to launch the rocket from Launch Complex 40. Expect 95% "go for launch" weather, the Space Force's 45th Weather Squadron predicts.
The squadron only forecasted a 5% chance of cumulus clouds postponing the mission during the 4½-hour launch window, coupled with a low-to-moderate risk of upper-level wind shear.
The Falcon 9 will deploy a batch of Starlink internet satellites, which are packed inside the fairing atop the 230-foot rocket. No Central Florida sonic booms are expected, and the Falcon 9 will soar skyward along a southeasterly trajectory.
Cape Canaveral: Is there a launch today? Upcoming SpaceX, Blue Origin, NASA rocket launch schedule in Florida
Countdown Timer
Update 5:13 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 20th mission.
Update 5:05 p.m.: Liftoff! SpaceX has just launched the Falcon 9 carrying 21 Starlink satellites — including 13 with direct-to-cell communications capabilities — from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Update 5 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 4:53 p.m.: Twelve minutes before liftoff, a large-scale front continues tracking just north of the Florida border — but the Sunshine State peninsula remains free of worrisome cloud cover, this National Weather Service radar loop shows.
Update 4:43 p.m.: Today's mission marks the Falcon 9 first-stage booster's 20th flight, SpaceX reported.
This much-traveled booster previously launched CRS-26, SXM-9, OneWeb Launch 16, Instelsat IS-40e, O3B mPOWER, Ovzon 3, Eutelsat 36D, Turksat 6A, Maxar 2 and 10 Starlink missions.
Following stage separation, crews expect the booster to land atop the SpaceX drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean 8 minutes, 9 seconds after liftoff.
Update 4:33 p.m.: Falcon 9 fueling procedures are underway at Launch Complex 40, as indicated by white vapor billowing alongside the rocket.
That means the upcoming Starlink mission countdown is now locked in to lift off at 5:05 p.m. without any delays, or else today's launch must be postponed.
Update 4:20 p.m.: Here's a rundown of SpaceX's upcoming behind-the-scenes 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 4:10 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 3:57 p.m.: This National Weather Service radar loop from the Melbourne Orlando International Airport station shows no significant cloud cover across the entire Central Florida peninsula.
Update 3:40 p.m.: More information from the 45th Weather Squadron's forecast, which also encompassed a Tuesday afternoon backup launch window:
"Surface high pressure across the Southeast (Sunday) will build east of FL early Monday, maintaining dry conditions for the primary launch window. A front will dig southeast across the Spaceport Tuesday; however, a lack of moisture will keep conditions dry for the backup window," the forecast said.
"There is only a small chance of a Cumulus Cloud Rule violation during the primary launch window, with a very low probability of weather violations for the backup window," 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 Monday mission at Cape Canaveral