Scrub recap: Scroll down to review live updates from the Saturday, Aug. 9, scrubbed liftoff attempt of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral on the Amazon Project Kuiper KF-02 mission.
Original story: After back-to-back postponements Thursday and Friday, will SpaceX crews successfully launch Amazon’s batch of 24 Project Kuiper satellites this morning — bolstered by unexpectedly pleasant weather?
Welcome to FLORIDA TODAY Space Team live coverage of today’s SpaceX KF-02 mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
After a pair of delays, SpaceX is now targeting 9:45 a.m. to launch the Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 40. The Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron had only predicted 40% odds of “go for launch” weather, citing cumulus clouds, anvil clouds and lightning.
No Brevard County sonic booms should occur. After soaring skyward along a northeasterly trajectory, the rocket’s first-stage booster will target landing aboard a SpaceX drone ship out at sea about eight minutes after liftoff.
Update 9:55 a.m.: Citing unfavorable weather — raindrops were falling around the Falcon 9 during the closing seconds of the webcast — SpaceX is now targeting a new launch window that opens at 8:57 a.m. Sunday.
Update 9:45 a.m.: Scrub! SpaceX has just postponed the Falcon 9 liftoff with 28 seconds remaining on the countdown clock, citing poor weather.
Update 9:41 a.m.: Four minutes before SpaceX’s Falcon 9 lifts off, the countdown appears to be proceeding as planned at Launch Complex 40.
Following is a list of key last-minute countdown milestones. T-minus:
- 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: Falcon 9 liftoff.
Update 9:37 a.m.: FLORIDA TODAY Space Reporter Brooke Edwards provided this image of SpaceX launch spectators awaiting liftoff at Space View Park, which overlooks the Indian River Lagoon in Titusville.
Update 9:33 a.m.: SpaceX’s launch webcast is now posted above, right below our countdown clock.
Liftoff is scheduled in 12 minutes from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Update 9:22 a.m.: Here’s a rundown of SpaceX’s upcoming behind-the-scenes Falcon 9 launch countdown timeline. T-minus:
- 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 9:14 a.m.: Falcon 9 fueling procedures are now underway at Launch Complex 40, as evidenced by billowing white water vapor outside the rocket.
That means the Amazon Project Kuiper mission countdown is locked in to lift off at 9:45 a.m. without any delays, or else this morning’s launch must be postponed to a later date.
Update 9:04 a.m.: SpaceX has not publicly announced why today’s liftoff time has been twice delayed. But National Weather Service radar shows cloud cover at and just offshore of Cape Canaveral.
Update 8:52 a.m.: SpaceX has announced a new target launch time: 9:45 a.m.
This new target may be at the end of this morning’s launch window.
Update 8:43 a.m.: SpaceX is now targeting 9:32 a.m. for liftoff, a 14-minute delay.
Update 8:37 a.m.: SpaceX’s upcoming Falcon 9 launch will clock in as the 67th orbital rocket launch thus far during 2025 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
For comparison’s sake, the Cape’s all-time annual launch records clocked in at 57 liftoffs in 2022 and 72 liftoffs in 2023. The current record of 93 launches in a single year was established in 2024.
Click here for the FLORIDA TODAY Space Team’s updating tally listing all of this year’s missions, complete with photo galleries and story links.
Update 8:27 a.m.: In California, SpaceX crews are monitoring the progress of a Dragon capsule as it continues approaching Earth after undocking Friday evening from the International Space Station.
Splashdown is targeted for 11:33 a.m. in the Pacific Ocean off the coastline, NASA reported. The spacecraft is carrying Crew-10: NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov.
Update 8:16 a.m.: Brevard County Emergency Management officials have activated the agency’s launch operations support team ahead of SpaceX’s upcoming Falcon 9 launch.
Update 8:05 a.m.: The latest National Weather Service forecast only calls for a chance of showers and thunderstorms this morning at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Afterward, showers are likely — with thunderstorms possible — between noon and 2 p.m. Then showers and thunderstorms are likely the rest of the day. Overall chance of precipitation is 70% with mostly sunny skies, a high near 91, and heat index values as high as 102.
Friday night, meteorologists issued a flood advisory after portions of Brevard County received 1 inch to 3 inches of rain.
Update 7:51 a.m.: Despite the pessimistic launch forecast, no weather alerts are in effect at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center — and radar shows no significant cloud cover over the Cape Canaveral vicinity.
As of 6:55 a.m., the National Weather Service reported fair skies, a temperature of 77 degrees and 10-mile visibility at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
For the latest news and launch schedule from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, visit floridatoday.com/space. Another easy way: Click here to sign up for our weekly Space newsletter.
Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at Rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1