SpaceX next up on Eastern Range with Falcon 9 NRO launch
SpaceX is next up on the Eastern Range as it targets April 30 for the launch of a classified National Reconnaissance Office satellite from Kennedy Space Center's pad 39A.
A Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to launch with NROL-76, the first dedicated SpaceX mission for the NRO, during a two-hour window that opens at 7 a.m. A first stage landing at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Landing Zone 1 is expected shortly after liftoff.
The company plans a static test firing of Falcon 9's rockets at pad 39A on Wednesday.
SpaceX is also targeting May 15 for the launch of the Inmarsat-5 commercial communications satellite and no earlier than May 31 for a resupply mission to the International Space Station known as CRS-11. Both Falcon 9 launches will be from KSC.
Contact Emre Kelly at aekelly@floridatoday.com or 321-242-3715. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook at @EmreKelly.
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