SpaceX to launch Starlink satellites from Florida
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (WFLA) — SpaceX is targeting a Monday afternoon launch of 21 Starlink satellites, including 13 with Direct to Cell capabilities from Cape Canaveral.
Lift-off for the Falcon 9 launch is expected to take place at 3:22 p.m., with backup opportunities through 6:21 p.m.
2 puppies, marijuana bags labeled 'Home Alone' and 'Scarface' confiscated during Polk County traffic stop
According to SpaceX, the rocket will be launched into low-Earth orbit. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the 'A Shortfall of Gravitas' droneship in the Atlantic Ocean.
This is the 20th flight for the first-stage booster supporting this mission. SpaceX has previously launched other missions including CRS-26, SXM-9, Ovzon 3, and 10 Starlink satellites.
WFLA will live stream the launch on Monday afternoon, which can be viewed in the video player above.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Geek Wire
35 minutes ago
- Geek Wire
Xplore unveils colorful hyperspectral views captured by its planet-watching satellite
An image from the XCUBE-1 satellite shows the Salt River in Arizona. ©2025 Xplore Inc. All rights reserved. Bellevue, Wash.-based Xplore has released the first hyperspectral images from its XCUBE-1 satellite, six months after the shoebox-sized spacecraft was sent into orbit. The pictures, captured with a resolution of 5 meters (16 feet) per pixel, show a river in Arizona, rugged terrain in Saudi Arabia, farmland in Uzbekistan and a settlement in Inner Mongolia — with each image color-coded to reflect wavelengths that go beyond what the eye can see. Such images can be used to assess agricultural crop health, moisture levels and other characteristics of a given terrain. Thermal infrared imagery could be used to track the spectral signatures of seagoing vessels or overland shipments as part of a campaign to crack down on illegal trafficking. For military applications, hyperspectral images could point to newly laid minefields or see through camouflage. And for space applications, Xplore's multi-sensor imaging system could be turned to track other satellites 'Xplore is focused on providing high-quality data products for our customers and partners,' Jeff Rich, co-founder and CEO of Xplore, said today in a news release. 'Our imagery is outperforming expectations, and its exceptional quality stems from the sophisticated ground calibration of our instruments and data processing pipeline. We expect demand for high-quality hyperspectral imagery to expand rapidly in multiple domains.' Two years ago, Xplore won a study contract from the National Reconnaissance Office to look into potential applications for hyperspectral imaging. Last December, XCUBE-1 was launched into low Earth orbit on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as part of the Bandwagon-2 satellite rideshare mission. Xplore says it's been sharing its initial data and exploring use cases with key customers and partners. The company plans to send future satellite platforms into Earth orbit and to other destinations to execute on its 'Space as a Service' business model. 'We're thrilled with Xplore's progress and are thankful for our talented team and partners,' Xplore co-founder and chief operating officer Lisa Rich said. 'Their hard work and dedication are clearly reflected in the outstanding imagery we're producing. We now invite customers to request data samples to assess our data for their programs and projects. The use of these data products will be crucial to produce insights, perform change detection and identify anomalies that are critical to our customers' applications.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
SpaceX rocket launch in Florida uses Falcon 9 booster that launched former NASA admin pick
The first of back-to-back SpaceX launches took off on time June 10, and the Falcon 9 booster supporting this launch was an interesting choice. SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 9:05 a.m. carrying 23 Starlink internet satellites to orbit from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The first-stage booster that powered this mission was the same booster that launched the Polaris Dawn crew. The Polaris Dawn mission was commanded and funded by President Trump's former nominee for NASA administrator, Jared Isaacman. The Polaris Dawn mission, which also included two SpaceX employees, performed the first spacewalk by a private company and traveled the furthest into space since the Apollo moon missions. Isaacman was Trump's pick to serve as NASA administrator, but on May 31 Trump dropped Isaacman, saying he needed someone more aligned with this goals. A new choice for NASA administrator has yet to be announced. "After a thorough review of prior associations, I am hereby withdrawing the nomination of Jared Isaacman to head NASA," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "I will soon announce a new Nominee who will be Mission aligned, and put America First in Space." The change came just days before a public feud erupted on X between Trump and SpaceX CEO, Elon Musk, who was close to Isaacman. On June 9, Isaacman posted the following to X in a discussion on what his plans would have been for NASA, which faces steep budget cuts in President Trump's proposal to Congress. "Spent the last few months assembling a pretty extensive plan—shaped by insights from a lot of smart, passionate people. No shortage of input — everyone loves NASA and wants to help. Maybe I will write an op-ed someday — but I didn't love being inundated with plans from people who thought they were uniquely NASA's savior — and I have little interest in doing the same," wrote Isaacman. "In short, I would have deleted the bureaucracy that impedes progress and robs resources from the mission (this is not unique to NASA it's a govt problem). I would flatten the hierarchy, rebuild the culture— centered on ownership, urgency, mission-focus alongside a risk recalibration. Then concentrate resources on the big needle movers NASA was meant to achieve," he wrote. When is the next Florida rocket launch? Live updates: 1st of back-to-back launch days to see SpaceX launch from Cape Canaveral Previous missions this Polaris Dawn booster flew include: NASA's Crew-8, CRS-31, Astranis: From One to Many, IM-2, and six other Starlink missions. Overall, it was the 12th flight of the booster. Just over eight minutes after liftoff, the booster landed on the Just Read the Instruction drone ship, which was stationed out on the Atlantic Ocean. Tuesday's launch was the first of what may be back-to-back SpaceX launch days. The launch of the Axiom Space Mission 4 (Ax-4) astronauts is set for no earlier than 8 a.m. on June 11 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center pad 39A. Originally set for June 10, the launch was postponed due to poor weather in the ascent corridor. Commanded by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, the international crew of four astronauts will spend two weeks on the International Space Station. With the mission traveling to the space station, the mission must lift off on time or scrub for the day. The SpaceX booster from the Axiom mission will return to Cape Canaveral, creating an early morning Space Coast sonic boom. The FLORIDA TODAY Space Team will provide live updates beginning two hours prior to launch at Brooke Edwards is a Space Reporter for Florida Today. Contact her at bedwards@ or on X: @brookeofstars. This article originally appeared on Florida Today: SpaceX rocket launch in Florida used booster that launched Isaacman
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
LIVE: Astronauts prepare for ISS visit and farming on the moon
SPACE (KXAN) — A quartet of astronauts from around the world are making final preparations to visit the International Space Station. Private space company Axiom Space will launch Axiom Ax-4 on June 11. The mission, carried out using a SpaceX Dragon capsule and launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, will take Commander Peggy Whitson, Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla from India, ESA Project Astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski from Poland, and Mission Specialist Tibor Kapu from Hungary to the ISS. This will be the first time astronauts from India, Poland, and Hungary will visit the ISS. 'We won't have a lot of time for personal activities on launch day. It's pretty scripted out. We'll be getting up at a specific time, have breakfast, and then head to the Kennedy Space Center. I've told these guys it's very much a hurry up and wait kind of day,' says Whitson to the Associated Press. Commander Whitson is a former NASA astronaut and the Director of Human Spaceflight with Axiom Space. Shukla is India's second national astronaut since 1984. 'I am carrying a few delicacies from India. You know, we have a very rich culinary culture, and so a few of the items that I'm carrying are mango nectar. I'm also carrying moong dal halwa and carrot halwa. Some of them are my favorites and I am so happy to be able to carry them, share them with my colleagues and also the astronauts who are on the station right now,' he says. The mission will last two weeks. During that time, the crew will study diabetes management in microgravity. 'We're very excited about testing that on board, and you may not know, but a person with diabetes can't fly in space because it's disqualifying and not considered to be safe because we wouldn't know how their bodies would respond. If we have the appropriate technology to monitor the individuals, we feel that we can open up that door and that path for a lot of folks in the world and just open up space a little bit more,' says Whitson. The flight is scheduled to launch from Kennedy Space Center at 7 a.m. CST. In other space news, Texas A&M AgriLife is looking to farm on the moon. Jess Atkin is a doctoral student looking to turn moon dust into a usable soil. She plans to do this using fungi designed to enrich the moon dust, called regolith. Early tests focused on growing chickpeas in simulated lunar soil. NASA awarded Atkin a $150,000 grant to continue her research. The Blue Danube Waltz is now playing on radio waves beyond our solar system. On May 31, the Vienna Symphonic Orchestra performed the piece, composed by Johann Strauss II, and beamed the music into space. The European Space Agency's big radio antenna transmitted the song towards Voyager I. Voyager I is located 15 billion miles away. When launched in 1977, the spacecraft contained a golden record with music on it. Strauss was not included. The concert and transmission were meant to celebrate the ESA's 50th anniversary and the 200th birthday of Strauss. Finally, China launched a mission to collect samples from a near-Earth asteroid. Tianwen 2 left Earth on May 29. The mission is aiming for asteroid 2016HO3. The China National Space Administration said a probe launched from the rocket towards the asteroid 18 minutes after launch. The mission is scheduled to take more than a decade. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
