Elon Musk’s rocket company SpaceX is expected to get the all-clear for its latest rocket launch late Monday with near-perfect weather conditions forecast for Cape Canaveral, according to reports.
The futuristic firm’s Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled for liftoff with a communications satellite between 7:10 p.m. and 8:38 p.m. from the station’s Launch Complex 40, according to Florida Today.
Launch weather officers with the 45th Weather Squadron said there is a 90 percent chance of “go” conditions thanks to excellent forecasts, the paper said.
Any delays, however, could spell trouble — there’s just a 50 percent chance of “go” conditions for Tuesday due to expected showers, storms and thick cumulus clouds, the report said.
The rocket will be carrying a Boeing-built commercial communications satellite, CSAT-18 / Kacific-1, that will provide coverage primarily for Asia and the Pacific.
Boeing is also scheduled for its own launch Friday with its Starliner capsule, which will lift off at 6:36 a.m. with just a mannequin named Rosie aboard. The test flight hopes to reach the International Space Station and stay for eight days, before a planned landing in New Mexico on Dec. 28.
Both Boeing’s Starliner and SpaceX’s Crew Dragon are planned to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station.
With Post wires


