Cape Canaveral, Florida. After a very busy year, SpaceX plans to start 2021 with the first launch sooner Thursday from Cape Canaveral, sending a Turkish communications satellite.
The Space Coast hosted more than 30 missile launches last year, and in 2021 promised to take the lead as SpaceX continues to build the constellation of the Starlink satellite to provide the global internet, and launches a new batch of spacecraft with increasing frequency.
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First, the Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to launch a satellite called Turksat-5A Thursday evening from the Space Launch Complex 40 of the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station between 8:28 p.m. Thursday and 12:28 a.m. Friday.
Turksat is a satellite company located in Turkey. According to the Turkish news site AA.com, The broadband satellite will provide TV services and expand broadband data to Turkey, the Middle East, Southern Europe and part of Africa.
After launch, the satellite will remain in geostationary orbit for up to 30 years.
The main weather concern at the launch window on Thursday evening will be cumulus clouds and thick, medium-level clouds, according to the 45th Weather Squadron. If takeoff is delayed by 24 hours, conditions improve to 80% but cloud cover again is the primary concern.
SpaceX plans to recover the enhanced Falcon 9 missile on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean after takeoff. Weather risks to boost the recovery are low, according to current projections.
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