After an unusually quiet stretch on the Space Coast, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket may be headed back to the skies this weekend. A launch designated "SpaceX mPOWER-F" appeared on the FAA's Current Operations Plan Advisory for Sunday, September 13, with a tentative window running from 2:40 p.m. to 5:10 p.m. ET from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The mission would carry communication satellites for SES, the Luxembourg-based satellite operator. SES recently confirmed that the final three of its O3b mPOWER satellites had arrived at Cape Canaveral ahead of the flight. Once in medium Earth orbit, the new additions will bring the total O3b mPOWER constellation to 13 satellites. SpaceX had not officially confirmed the launch date as of early Wednesday morning.
The lull that preceded this mission has been notable by Space Coast standards. The last launch from Florida was NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which lifted off August 30 aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy. Beyond the SES mission, the only other item on the schedule has been NASA's Crew-13 flight — and that one has been pushed back. An oxidizer leak discovered in the Dragon spacecraft's propulsion system forced a delay, with the astronaut rotation mission to the International Space Station now targeted for no earlier than late September.
Looking further ahead, SpaceX has been winding down Florida-based Starlink launches on the Falcon 9 in anticipation of eventually transitioning that work to the much larger Starship rocket, which is currently undergoing testing in Texas before a planned move to the Space Coast.
This report is based on coverage by Brooke Edwards of Florida Today.
