Live coverage: SpaceX to launch 26 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg

File: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands ready to launch the Starlink 7-14 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base. Image: SpaceX

Update May 3, 1:35 p.m. EDT: SpaceX scrubbed the launch attempt on Saturday and is now targeting Sunday

SpaceX is preparing for its third Falcon 9 launch of the month, which will send 26 Starlink V2 Mini satellites into low Earth orbit. SpaceX decided to forgo its launch opportunity on Saturday, but didn’t announce a reason for the scrub.

The Starlink 15-3 mission will fly a south-easterly trajectory when it takes off from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base. Liftoff is targeting Sunday, May 4, at 10:59 a.m. PDT (1:59 p.m. EDT, 1759 UTC).

Spaceflight Now will have live coverage beginning about 30 minutes prior to liftoff.



SpaceX will use the Falcon 9 first stage booster, tail number 1081, to launch this mission. It will launch for a 14th time after previously flying Crew-7, CRS-29, two Transporter rideshare missions and NASA’s PACE spacecraft.

A little more than eight minutes after liftoff, B1081 will target a landing on the SpaceX droneship, ‘Of Course I Still Love You.’ If successful, this will be the 128th booster landing on that vessel and the 441st booster landing to date.

Those on in the Southwest part of the United States will likely see far more Falcon 9 rocket launches this year compared to years past. In March, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) accepted the Final Environmental Assessment (EA) from the Department of the Air Force to allow SpaceX to increase the number of launches from SLC-4E from 36 up to 50.