After delays, SpaceX sends Falcon 9 into orbit early Wednesday on Starlink mission from Cape

After a trio of delays totaling more than 1? hours, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 23 Starlink satellites during an early morning Wednesday liftoff at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

The rocket departed Launch Complex 40 at 1:40 a.m. EDT. SpaceX crews had initially set a 12:04 a.m. target launch time, but later pushed that back to 12:44 a.m. and 1:16 a.m. before finally settling on the 1:40 a.m. mark.

The night-owl Falcon 9 liftoff occurred less than 13 hours after United Launch Alliance launched the last Delta IV Heavy rocket into orbit on the NROL-70 national security mission from nearby Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

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Wednesday's SpaceX Starlink 6-48 mission marked only the second flight for this Falcon 9 first-stage booster, SpaceX reported. Following stage separation, the booster — which previously launched Crew-8 — landed on the drone ship Just Read the Instructions out on the Atlantic Ocean.

The Space Force's 45th Weather Squadron forecast had predicted 90% odds of favorable weather for Wednesday's SpaceX launch.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station early Wednesday morning.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station early Wednesday morning.

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 (for more of his stories, click here.) Contact Neale at [email protected]. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1

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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: After delays, SpaceX sends Falcon 9 into orbit early Wednesday from Cape