After a record 2023, SpaceX is not slowing down its launch plans for 2024 with the first launch of the year from Florida slated for Wednesday evening.
After a record 2023, SpaceX is not slowing down its launch plans for 2024 with the first launch of the year from Florida slated for Wednesday evening.
A Falcon 9 rocket carrying a telecom satellite for private Swedish company Ovzon is slated to lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 during a 10-minute window that opens at 6:04 p.m. with a backup on Thursday during an 87-minute window that opens at 4:47 p.m.
Space Launch Delta 45’s weather squadron forecasts 90% chance for favorable conditions, which increases to 95% in the event of a 24-hour delay.
The first-stage booster is flying for the 10th time and will attempt a recovery landing at Canaveral’s Landing Zone 1, meaning a double sonic boom is in store for the Space Coast.
The 3,968-pound Ovzon 3 satellite is the first privately-funded and developed Swedish geostationary satellite ever to be launched, headed for a geostationary transfer orbit where it will then propel itself to its geostationary orbit over 3-4 months at 59.7 degrees east at 22,236 miles altitude.
SpaceX had a banner year among its two Florida pads, launching 68 of the Space Coast’s 72 orbital missions, including five flights of its powerhouse Falcon Heavy and three crewed flights to the International Space Station.
