Kennedy Space Center found only minor damage after Hurricane Milton passes
- by Florida Today
- Oct 12, 2024
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Launches from Florida to resume at Cape Canaveral
In the wake of Milton, NASA said that Europa Clipper, the agency's highly anticipated mission to Jupiter's icy moon, will launch no earlier than 12:06 p.m. on Monday, October 14. The spacecraft will launch atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy from Pad 39A.
Milton also delayed the return of NASA's Crew-8. The crew, on the International Space Station since March, was expected to return last week. Splashdown will now be no earlier than 3:38 p.m. on Monday, October 14. Exact time and location of the splashdown will be given closer to the event, as factors such as weather must be monitored.
Starlink launches soon to return to Cape Canaveral
Before Milton hit the Cape, SpaceX faced another Federal Aviation Administration investigation into its Falcon 9 rocket. While no harm to the crew or public was done, during the NASA Crew-9 launch on September 28, the second stage of the rocket, also called the upper stage, did not preform a reentry burn correctly − splashing down outside the targeted area. While SpaceX voluntarily stood down to look into the issue, the FAA also issued an investigation.
This has recently been resolved, along with two other Falcon 9 malfunctions from earlier this year. On July 11, a Starlink launch from California saw a second stage malfunction, causing the loss of the Starlink satellites. Later, on August 28, a Starlink launch from Florida saw the Falcon 9 first stage booster experience a landing mishap, tipping over and bursting into flames.
Saturday morning, the FAA forwarded the following statement to FLORIDA TODAY via email:
"The FAA is responsible for and committed to protecting the public during commercial space transportation launch and reentry operations. The FAA notified SpaceX on Oct. 11 that the Falcon 9 vehicle is authorized to return to regular flight operations. The FAA reviewed and accepted the SpaceX-led investigation findings and corrective actions for the mishap that occurred with the Crew-9 mission (Sept. 28).
Also on Oct. 11, FAA closed the SpaceX-led investigations for the Falcon 9 mishaps that occurred with the Starlink 9-3 (July 11) and Starlink 8-6 (Aug. 28) missions."
As of Saturday afternoon, the FAA had listed an early Monday launch window for SpaceX's Starlink 10-10 mission. The Falcon 9, delivering SpaceX's next batch of internet satellites, could lift off during a launch window extending from 1:48 a.m. - 6:18 a.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 40.
Brooke Edwards is a Space Reporter for Florida Today. Contact her at bedwards@floridatoday.com or on X: @brookeofstars.
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