Launch recap: Scroll down to review live updates from SpaceX’s unsuccessful Sunday, Aug. 10, launch attempt of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral on the Amazon Project Kuiper KF-02 mission.
Original story: SpaceX stood down from Thursday’s Falcon 9 rocket liftoff try “to perform additional vehicle checkouts.” Friday’s attempt also got postponed. And then, Saturday’s attempt washed out amid rainfall.
Will SpaceX crews finally launch Amazon’s batch of 24 Project Kuiper satellites this morning after back-to-back-to-back unsuccessful attempts at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station?
Welcome to FLORIDA TODAY Space Team live coverage of today’s SpaceX KF-02 mission. SpaceX is now targeting 9:13 a.m. to send up the Falcon 9 from Launch Complex 40.
But yet again, the forecast looks iffy. The Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron predicted 55% 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 9:31 a.m.: In a tweet, SpaceX officials announced bad weather near the drone ship triggered today’s scrub. National Weather Service Radar shows large offshore storms ranging from the Cape northward past Georgia to North Carolina.
“Due to unfavorable recovery weather conditions, Falcon 9’s launch of the KF-02 mission is now targeted for tomorrow, August 11. Vehicle and payload remain healthy,” the tweet said.
The new 27-minute launch window will open at 8:35 a.m. Monday.
Update 9:19 a.m.: During the launch webcast, SpaceX announced the KF-02 mission’s next launch window opens at 8:35 a.m. Monday.
Update 9:13 a.m.: Scrub! SpaceX crews just halted the countdown at the 30-second mark, citing weather.
Update 9:08 a.m.: Seven minutes before SpaceX’s Falcon 9 lifts off, the countdown appears to be proceeding as planned.
Following is a list of key remaining countdown milestones. T-minus:
- 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: Falcon 9 liftoff.
Update 9 a.m.: SpaceX’s launch webcast is now posted above, right below our countdown clock.
Liftoff is scheduled in 13 minutes from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Update 8:50 a.m.: This morning’s mission will mark the Falcon 9 first-stage booster’s maiden flight, SpaceX reported.
Following stage separation, crews expect the booster to land on the SpaceX drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean 8 minutes, 13 seconds after liftoff.
Update 8:41 a.m.: Falcon 9 fueling procedures are now underway at Launch Complex 40, billowing water vapor indicates.
That means the Project Kuiper mission countdown is locked in to lift off at 9:13 a.m. without any delays, or else today’s launch must be postponed to a later date.
Update 8:30 a.m.: This Project Kuiper promotional video explains how the future satellite constellation will come together.
Update 8:22 a.m.: SpaceX has pushed back the target liftoff time by 16 minutes, to 9:13 a.m.
Update 8:15 a.m.: Tributes continue coming in for Apollo astronaut Jim Lovell, who died Thursday. He commanded the Apollo 13 moon mission in April 1970.
“Astronaut Jim Lovell has died at age 97. He was a pioneer,” former NASA administrator Bill Nelson, who grew up in Brevard County, said in a tweet.
“Gemini, Apollo 8 the first flight to the Moon, then a miracle of safe return of Apollo 13 after an explosion in flight. Jim was one of the best and a gentleman and devoted husband. Godspeed Jim.”
Update 8:05 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 7:53 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 7:42 a.m.: Today’s mission — the second Kuiper launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket — will up the total number of Kuiper spacecraft deployed to 102 satellites.
Plans call for Amazon’s initial constellation in low-Earth orbit to eventually exceed 3,200 spacecraft.
After SpaceX deploys today’s batch of 24 satellites at an altitude of 289 miles above Earth, Project Kuiper technicians will contact the satellites and complete activation and health checks. Then the satellites will ascend to their assigned altitude of 392 miles, a Project Kuiper blog post said.
Update 7:26 a.m.: Narrative details from the 45th Weather Squadron’s launch forecast:
“A stationary boundary remains draped across north-central Florida, maintaining deep atmospheric moisture across the Space Coast,” the forecast said.
“Strengthening southerly flow will help keep early morning convection mainly offshore. However, scattered showers or storms cannot be ruled out,” 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. 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