UPDATE: SpaceX successfully launched its Transporter 7 mission Friday night from Vandenberg Space Force Base.
The rocket launched at 11:48 p.m
After phase separation, the rocket’s first booster landed back at Vandenberg Space Force Base. That was 8 minutes after takeoff.
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UPDATE: Launch is now scheduled for Friday evening at 11:48pm.
In a tweet, SpaceX says the weather is good for launch.
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SpaceX is scheduled to launch its Transporter 7 mission Friday at 11:47 p.m. from Vandenberg Space Force Base.
REGARD:
Transporter-7 is SpaceX’s seventh dedicated Smallsat rideshare.
There are 51 payloads on the Falcon 9 rocket that will lift off from Vandenberg on Friday. According to SpaceX, these payloads include CubeSats, MicroSats, hosted payloads and orbital transfer vehicles that spacecraft will deploy at a later date.
After the stages separate, SpaceX will aim to land the rocket’s first stage booster back on land at Vandenberg Space Force Base. In the past, this has resulted in a sonic boom that can be heard across the region.
The booster deployed on Friday has been used in nine previous missions.
The launch was originally scheduled for Tuesday but was postponed and moved to Thursday evening to allow more time for pre-launch checks and better weather conditions. On Thursday evening, the launch was aborted just about 30 seconds before launch due to weather restrictions.
A live webcast of Friday’s launch is scheduled to begin approximately 10 minutes before launch.