Launch recap: Scroll down to review live updates from the Thursday, Sept. 11, liftoff of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral on the Nusantara Lima mission.
Original story: For the fourth night in a row, SpaceX will attempt to launch an Indonesian telecom satellite into orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Will tonight’s try finally succeed?
Welcome to FLORIDA TODAY Space Team live coverage of tonight’s SpaceX Nusantara Lima mission. SpaceX is now targeting 9:56 p.m. — the end of the launch window — to send up a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 40 with the satellite for operator PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara.
In the most encouraging forecast of this rain-soaked workweek, the Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron predicted 45% odds of “go for launch” conditions tonight. Prime threats should include cumulus clouds and surface electric fields.
No Brevard County sonic booms should occur during this mission. The rocket will ascend due east, and the first-stage booster will target landing aboard a SpaceX drone ship out at sea 8½ minutes after liftoff.
Update 10:04 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 9:56 p.m.: Liftoff! After three straight nights of unsuccessful attempts, SpaceX has just launched the Falcon 9 carrying the Nusantara Lima satellite from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Update 9:49 p.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 9:46 p.m.: Tonight’s mission will mark the Falcon 9 first-stage booster’s 23rd flight, SpaceX reported.
The booster previously flew Crew-6, SES O3b mPOWER-b, USSF-124, BlueBird 1-5 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, 32 seconds after liftoff.
Update 9:40 p.m.: SpaceX’s launch webcast is now posted above, right below our countdown clock.
“Teams are continuing to monitor weather ahead of liftoff,” a SpaceX tweet said.
Liftoff is scheduled in 16 minutes from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Update 9:32 p.m.: In down-to-the-wire fashion, significant cloud cover has moved eastward from Cape Canaveral over the Atlantic Ocean, as seen in this National Weather Service radar loop from the Melbourne Orlando International Airport station.
Update 9:25 p.m.: Falcon 9 fueling procedures are taking place at Launch Complex 40, as indicated by water vapor streaming near the base of the rocket.
That means the Nusantara Lima mission countdown is locked in to lift off at 9:56 p.m. without any delays, or else tonight’s launch must be postponed to a later date — yet again.
Update 9:06 p.m.: SpaceX will now target liftoff at 9:56 p.m., the end of the launch window.
Update 9:02 p.m.: National Weather Service radar clearly shows that cloud cover over Cape Canaveral is moving offshore.
Will potential cumulus and anvil clouds head outside the Launch Complex 40 safety radius in time for liftoff? Stay tuned.
Update 8:52 p.m.: SpaceX is now aiming for 9:45 p.m. for liftoff. That’s the fourth delay of the night.
Recall, tonight’s launch window closes at 9:56 p.m.
Update 8:40 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 8:25 p.m.: In a lighthearted tweet, SpaceX Vice President of Launch Kiko Dontchev of Cocoa Beach expressed hope for clearing conditions over Cape Canaveral by the conclusion of tonight’s launch window.
Update 8:10 p.m.: SpaceX is delaying tonight’s mission for a third time. The latest liftoff target time is 9:29 p.m.
Update 8 p.m.: Here’s that tweet featuring Boeing Space photos and information on the Nusantara Lima satellite that we shared while blogging Tuesday’s scrubbed launch attempt — where SpaceX technicians halted the countdown with only 29 seconds remaining before liftoff.
Photos were taken from Boeing’s factory in El Segundo, California.
Update 7:44 p.m.: Another delay. SpaceX is now targeting 8:59 p.m. for liftoff.
Update 7:35 p.m.: National Weather Service radar shows a potential reason for SpaceX’s 30-minute launch delay.
A large band of showers is marching northeast toward Brevard County from inland Florida north of Lake Okeechobee.
Update 7:22 p.m.: SpaceX is now targeting 8:29 p.m. for liftoff.
Update 7:15 p.m.: SpaceX’s upcoming Falcon 9 launch will clock in as the 77th orbital rocket launch thus far during 2025 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
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 7:05 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 6:55 p.m.: Drier air tonight will lead to “lower shower and storm coverage overall — creating more optimistic launch conditions” than earlier this week, the 45th Weather Squadron forecast narrative said.
“The longwave upper-level trough positioned across the Deep South will slowly make southward progress, pushing the surface front (currently analyzed through Central Florida) to South Florida by Thursday morning, and stalling near Lake Okeechobee through Friday,” the forecast said.
Tonight’s main weather-watch items should be coastal showers advancing from the northeast, possibly growing into cumulus-cloud and surface-electric-field violators as they move ashore, per the forecast.
Update 6:40 p.m.: Click below for our stories summarizing SpaceX’s cloud-plagued unsuccessful launch attempts the past three days.
Update 6:27 p.m.: No lightning watches or warnings are in effect at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station or NASA’s Kennedy Space Center — unlike during the hours preceding this mission’s previous launch attempts Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
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Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at Rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1