In a Memorial Day weekend liftoff, SpaceX is targeting the sunny afternoon of Saturday, May 24, to launch another Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, per the Federal Aviation Administration.
The 4½-hour launch window will extend from 1:19 p.m. to 5:50 p.m. SpaceX has yet to publicly confirm this Starlink 12-22 mission or announce a target liftoff time.
The Falcon 9 will take flight from Launch Complex 40, ascend in a southeasterly trajectory, and deploy a set of Starlink broadband satellites into low-Earth orbit. Live FLORIDA TODAY Space Team coverage will kick off about 90 minutes before liftoff at floridatoday.com/space.
The National Weather Service afternoon forecast for May 24 calls for sunny skies with a high near 90 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, with a 20% chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 p.m. Expect light wind from the east of 5 to 10 mph.
This upcoming Starlink mission will clock in as the 44th orbital rocket launch thus far during 2025 from the Space Force installation and NASA’s adjacent Kennedy Space Center.
For comparison’s sake, the 44th launch of 2024 occurred on June 7, two weeks later on the calendar. Of course, last year’s unprecedented final total established a new annual record of 93 launches from Florida’s Space Coast. This year’s cadence is faster.
For the latest news from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, visit floridatoday.com/space. Another easy way: Click here to sign up for our weekly Space newsletter.
Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at Rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1
