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SpaceX’s first launch of the year set for Tuesday morning

In a handout photo provided by NASA, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft is launched on NASAs SpaceX Crew-5 mission to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina onboard at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, Oct. 5 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (NASA/Getty Images North America/TNS)
By Richard Tribou Orlando Sentinel

ORLANDO, Fla. – After managing 61 launches in 2022, SpaceX has its first liftoff of 2023 planned for Tuesday morning.

A Falcon 9 rocket on the Transporter-6 mission carrying 114 payloads for a variety of customers looks to blast off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 9:56 a.m. EST.

Space Launch Delta 45’s weather squadron predicts an 80% chance of favorable conditions with liftoff winds and cumulus clouds the only concerns.

The first-stage booster is being used for a record-tying 15th time and will attempt to return at Canaveral’s Launch Zone 1.

SpaceX’s Canaveral launch pad saw the most action last year with 30 launches followed by 18 at the Kennedy Space Center and 13 at the Vandenberg Space Force Base with 13. The 61 launches nearly doubled SpaceX’s 31 launches in 2021.

Elon Musk stated last year that the company could see as many as 100 launches this year. That would include mostly Falcon 9 rockets, but also at least four of its powerful Falcon Heavy rockets including one targeting some time in January for the Space Force. It could also include multiple launches of its in-development Starship and Super Heavy from its test launch facilities in Boca Chica, Texas.

The company also continues to build out launch support structures for Starship operations at KSC as well, although it will be some time before the Space Coast sees a Starship launch attempt.

“I know there is a plan, I’ll call it development schedule, but it’s really a test and development program being run now out of Texas,” said Frank DiBello, president and CEO of Space Florida, the state’s aerospace economic development agency. “But SpaceX is moving at light-speed to get the capability to conduct launch operations here. So we’re very optimistic that it won’t be long. The engines are known commodity, so what we’re talking about is the integration and full operation of the vehicle.”

For now, the Space Coast will continue to support Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches as well as the Atlas V and new Vulcan Centaur rockets from United Launch Alliance and the new Terran 1 3D-printed rocket from Relativity Space.

“There’s a lot happening. It’s a very exciting time for the industry and especially in this next decade,” DiBello said.