SpaceX is hoping for a fifth time lucky, with no cruise ship delays for today’s Falcon 9 launch

The weather seems fine, and if cruise ships can stay out of the no-go zone, SpaceX could launch a Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station today.

The projected liftoff at 6:11 p.m. comes after a four-day delay caused by weather and a late scrub caused by a cruise ship travelling out of Port Canaveral entering a larger-than-normal hazard zone for rocket liftoffs due to a planned southerly route.

The Italian Space Agency’s COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation FM2 satellite will be launched into orbit by SpaceX. It’s the second of four new satellites that will replace four that were launched between 2007 and 2010 and provide defence, environmental, and other observations for Italy and other Mediterranean states.

It’s SpaceX’s fourth launch from the Space Coast this month, with a fifth scheduled on Tuesday from the nearby Kennedy Space Center.

Several launches from Canaveral and Kennedy have taken a southerly trajectory, prompting Space Launch Delta 45, the Space Force group in charge of both Cape Canaveral and Patrick Space Force Base, to try to spread the news so that aeroplanes and boats don’t interfere with the space.

In early January, Maj. Jonathan Szul, Director of Operations, 1st Range Operations Squadron at CCSFS, remarked, “The 2022 launch rate is likely to be extraordinarily hectic.” “There will be a greater potential impact on air and marine travel near the southeast coast of Florida due to the peculiar southerly trajectory.” We ask that all pilots and mariners double-check their Notices to Airmen (NOTAM) and Notices to Mariners (NOTMAR) to ensure that they are fully informed about all upcoming launch operations on the Space Coast during this historic month.”

As of 2 p.m., five cruise ships were docked in Port Canaveral, according to cruisemapper.com. Before the launch, the ships would have to have left and travelled into safe area, as the first-stage booster will also attempt to land at Canaveral’s Landing Zone 1. This is the booster’s third flight, and each of the fairing sections has flown on three prior flights.

According to the Space Launch Delta 45’s Weather Squadron forecast, today’s weather looks good, with more than 90% favourable circumstances.