SpaceX / Wikimedia Commons / CC0
SpaceX is targeting Monday, November 9, for a Falcon 9 launch of the USSF-627 mission from California, with a four-hour window opening at 7:03 p.m. Pacific time, or 10:03 p.m. Eastern. The flight from Vandenberg Space Force Base would be the seventh for the mission’s first-stage booster.
For viewers on the East Coast, the opening of the launch window falls late Monday evening. Residents in three California counties may also hear sonic booms during the flight, depending on weather and other conditions.
SpaceX’s mission announcement lists Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg as the departure point. If the mission does not fly during Monday’s opportunity, a backup is available Tuesday, November 10, at 6:49 p.m. Pacific, or 9:49 p.m. Eastern.
Seventh flight for the booster
The Falcon 9 first stage assigned to USSF-627 previously supported NROL-179, SDA-T1TL-E, SDA-T1TL-A and three Starlink missions, according to SpaceX. Monday’s planned flight would add another mission to that booster’s record.
After separating from the rocket’s second stage, the booster is scheduled to return to the Of Course I Still Love You droneship in the Pacific Ocean. The published flight sequence places stage separation at about two minutes and 29 seconds after liftoff and the first-stage landing at about eight minutes and 11 seconds. Those times are approximate.
How to watch, and where booms may be heard
A live webcast is scheduled to begin about 10 minutes before liftoff on the mission page and the company’s X account. The broadcast’s start follows the actual launch time rather than guaranteeing liftoff at the opening of the four-hour window.
SpaceX said residents of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties could hear one or more sonic booms during the launch. What people experience will depend on weather and other conditions.
The schedule remains a launch target. For people planning to watch or living within the possible sonic-boom area, the mission page is the place to check for changes to the countdown, launch opportunity and live coverage.
Archive photograph: Falcon 9 at Vandenberg in January 2016, not the USSF-627 rocket.
JBizNews Desk | Vandenberg, California
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