SpaceX crews are preparing to launch the 38th orbital rocket of 2026 during an early morning mission Wednesday, June 3, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station — though the weather forecast looks rainy.
The four-hour SpaceX Starlink 10-43 launch window will open at 4:02 a.m. and last until 8:02 a.m. at Launch Complex 40. A Falcon 9 rocket will carry 29 Starlink broadband satellites up into low-Earth orbit.
No Central Florida sonic booms should occur. Instead, after ascending to the northeast, the rocket’s first-stage booster plans to complete its 12th mission by landing aboard the SpaceX drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean nearly 8½ minutes after liftoff.
However, the National Weather Service forecast calls for showers and thunderstorms before 2 a.m., followed by a chance of showers between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. — with a chance of thunderstorms added back to the mix after 5 a.m. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
SpaceX’s night-owl Starlink mission will follow the Space Coast’s launch doubleheader on Friday, May 29. SpaceX kicked off the morning by launching a similar Starlink mission, and United Launch Alliance followed suit that evening by launching an Atlas V rocket carrying Amazon Leo internet satellites.
Looking ahead to next week, SpaceX has scheduled a Starlink mission on Monday, June 8. More details:
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Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY, where he has covered news since 2004. Contact Neale at Rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1
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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: SpaceX eyes Florida early morning Falcon 9 launch on Starlink mission
Reporting by Rick Neale, Florida Today / Florida Today
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