SpaceX Set for Starlink Mission Launch from Cape Canaveral

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — SpaceX is preparing to launch its Starlink 12-23 mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station this Sunday night. Liftoff is scheduled for 10:09 p.m. EDT (0209 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 40. This launch marks SpaceX’s 48th Falcon 9 flight of 2025.

The 45th Weather Squadron has predicted a 90 percent chance of favorable weather for the launch. However, meteorologists have noted potential constraints due to cumulus and anvil clouds. They stated, “By late Sunday, a front approaching from the northwest will syphon moisture ahead of the boundary with a few seabreeze-induced showers possible especially northwest of the Spaceport.”

The Falcon 9 booster for this mission, tail number B1077, is set for its 20th flight. B1077’s past missions include launching twelve batches of Starlink satellites, three trips to the International Space Station, and the GPS 3 Space Vehicle 06.

Approximately eight minutes after liftoff, B1077 will attempt to land on SpaceX’s droneship, ‘Just Read the Instructions,’ stationed in the Atlantic Ocean near The Bahamas. If successful, this would be the 117th booster landing for this droneship and the 438th landing overall.

Earlier, SpaceX delayed another Falcon 9 launch, originally scheduled for Sunday, involving the Starlink 11-9 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base, to Monday.

SpaceX previously launched a Falcon 9 at 1:50 a.m. EDT on Sunday, deploying the Telstar 19 VANTAGE communications satellite. The first stage booster successfully landed at sea on a drone ship.

In other recent developments, SpaceX called off a planned launch on Saturday just before liftoff to investigate an issue with the vehicle’s upper stage engine steering system, according to CEO Elon Musk.