Weather excellent for SpaceX Zuma launch from Cape Canaveral
Emre Kelly
Update, 3:15 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018:
SpaceX's launch of the classified Zuma mission has been pushed back one day to Friday, Jan. 5. The weather forecast remains 90 percent "go" for an 8 p.m. EST liftoff, at the opening of a two-hour window at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Launch Complex 40.
Original story posted Monday, Jan. 1, 2018:
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is expected to kick off this year's Eastern Range launch manifest with a secretive Thursday mission from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
Air Force forecasters with the 45th Weather Squadron anticipate 90 percent "go" conditions during a launch window that opens at 8 p.m. and closes at 10 p.m., according to a statement released on Monday. The only noted concern during the window at Launch Complex 40 is the possible presence of thick clouds.
"Thursday will be very chilly at the spaceport with a low of 40 and a high of 50 with breezy northwesterly winds," forecasters said. "The primary weather concern is lingering clouds behind the trough."
[Southbound? Cape rockets may fly new path toward poles]
[SpaceX's three-core Falcon Heavy rolls out to KSC launch pad]
About eight minutes after liftoff, the first stage of the Falcon 9 is expected to land at Cape Canaveral's Landing Zone 1. Space Coast residents and spectators can expect a sonic boom to thunder through the night as the 156-foot-tall booster crosses the speed of sound threshold during its descent.
The mission known only as Zuma, a government payload handled by Northrop Grumman, was delayed from November due to issues with the Falcon 9 rocket's protective nose cone.
Contact Emre Kelly at aekelly@floridatoday.com or 321-242-3715. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook at @EmreKelly.
Launch Thursday:
- Rocket: SpaceX Falcon 9
- Mission: Zuma government payload for Northrop Grumman
- Launch Time: Between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.
- Launch Complex: 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
- Weather: 90 percent "go"
Join FloridaToday.com/Space Thursday night for countdown chat and updates, including streaming of SpaceX's launch webcast.