Scrub! SpaceX halts Falcon 9 countdown minutes before liftoff, sets new Thursday morning target

Scrub recap: Scroll down to review live updates from the Wednesday, Sept. 4, late-countdown scrub of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at Cape Canaveral on the Starlink 8-11 mission.

Original coverage: Get ready for a lunchtime SpaceX Falcon 9 launch — which was initially scheduled for the tail end of morning rush hour.

Welcome to FLORIDA TODAY Space Team live coverage of today's SpaceX Starlink 8-11 mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. After changing the time twice, SpaceX is now targeting 12:07 p.m. EDT to launch the rocket from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

The Falcon 9 will deploy a batch of 21 Starlink internet satellites, which are packed inside the fairing atop the 230-foot rocket, into low-Earth orbit.

No Central Florida sonic booms are expected. After soaring skyward along a northeasterly trajectory, the rocket's first-stage booster will target landing aboard a SpaceX drone ship out at sea roughly eight minutes after liftoff.

Cape Canaveral: Is there a launch today? Upcoming SpaceX, NASA rocket launch schedule from Florida

Countdown Timer

SpaceX eyes 8:35 a.m. Thursday liftoff target

Update 12:17 p.m.: After today's scrub, SpaceX has announced a new liftoff time of 8:35 a.m. Thursday.

Additional launch opportunities are available until 12:31 p.m., if delays arise.

SpaceX: Scrub triggered by drone ship weather

Update 12:10 p.m.: In a tweet, SpaceX officials just announced they will target launch tomorrow instead. Thursday's launch window will open at 8:35 a.m. and extend until 1:05 p.m.

"Due to unfavorable booster recovery weather conditions in the Atlantic, the team is resetting Falcon 9’s launch of @Starlink for tomorrow, September 5."

Scrub!

Update 12:06 p.m.: Brevard County Emergency Management officials just announced today's mission is scrubbed.

Still no word from SpaceX.

SpaceX Falcon 9 launch in 10 minutes

Update 11:57 a.m.: Ten minutes before SpaceX's Falcon 9 liftoff attempt, the countdown appears to be proceeding as planned. Rocket fueling remains well underway at Launch Complex 40.

Following is a list of key remaining countdown milestones. T-minus:

• 7 minutes: Falcon 9 begins engine chill prior to launch.

• 1 minute: Command flight computer begins final prelaunch checks; propellant tank pressurization to flight pressure begins.

• 45 seconds: SpaceX launch director verifies “go for launch.”

• 3 seconds: Engine controller commands engine ignition sequence to start.

• 0 seconds: Falcon 9 liftoff.

SpaceX booster to land on drone ship

Update 11:48 a.m.: Today's mission will mark the Falcon 9 first-stage booster’s 15th flight, SpaceX reported.

The booster previously launched Crew-5, GPS III Space Vehicle 06, Inmarsat I6-F2, CRS-28, Intelsat G-37, NG-20 and eight Starlink missions.

Following stage separation, crews expect the booster to land on the SpaceX drone ship Just Read the Instructions in the Atlantic Ocean 8 minutes, 22 seconds after liftoff.

During a Starlink mission last week, a booster tipped over amid roaring flames swiftly upon landing during an Aug. 28 mishap aboard the SpaceX drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas.

SpaceX Falcon 9 fueling underway

Update 11:38 a.m.: SpaceX just announced Falcon 9 fueling procedures are underway at Launch Complex 40, "and all systems are looking good."

However, "teams are keeping an eye on weather in the recovery area." That refers to an Atlantic Ocean offshore zone northeast of Cape Canaveral, where the SpaceX drone ship Just Read the Instructions awaits the first-stage booster landing.

That means the Starlink countdown is now locked in to lift off at 12:07 p.m. without any delays, or else the launch must be postponed.

SpaceX drone ship, booster seen at Port Canaveral

Update 11:14 a.m.: Earlier this morning, FLORIDA TODAY Space Reporter Brooke Edwards dropped by Port Canaveral to cover the arrival of Blue Origin's new booster-landing drone ship, Jacklyn.

Edwards also tweeted photos of SpaceX crews working on the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas and lowering a first-stage booster from a previous mission.

Space Force: 70% odds of 'go for launch' weather

Update 10:51 a.m.: The Space Force's 45th Weather Squadron forecast calls for a 70% chance of favorable launch weather, with cumulus clouds and anvil clouds looming as the primary meteorological concerns.

For context, today's 4?-hour Starlink launch window opened at 8:59 a.m. and extends until 1:29 p.m.

"Another wet day is expected as deep tropical moisture pools across the Florida Peninsula south of a lingering trough. This pattern will continue above normal rain chances for the state through the week. With south to southeast flow, scattered morning showers with isolated thunderstorms are expected across the coastal waters during the initial launch window," the squadron's forecast said.

"Late in the window, the sea breeze may begin to generate showers and storms along the Space Coast," the forecast said.

SpaceX juggles launch time twice

Update 10:33 a.m.: Initially, SpaceX crews aimed for liftoff at 8:59 a.m. Then the target time got pushed back roughly four hours toward the end of the launch window, to 12:55 p.m.

For now, the 12:07 p.m. liftoff target remains listed on the SpaceX website.

For the latest news and launch schedule from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit floridatoday.com/space.

Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at [email protected]. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1

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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Scrub! SpaceX halts Falcon 9 countdown, sets new Thursday morning target