SpaceX is gearing up for the 2nd launch this week with a shared engagement mission

CAP CANAVERAL, Fla. – After successfully launching its own payload from Florida earlier this week, SpaceX is preparing another Falcon 9 rocket to launch with satellites from several customers, including DARPA, NASA and more Starlink satellites .

SpaceX’s sharing mission includes payloads from private and government customers, as well as a dozen smaller nanosatellites. The rocket will leave the Cape Canaveral 40 space force station launch complex. The launch window opens on Saturday at 9:40 a.m.

The mission, known as Transporter-1, also includes a somewhat last-minute addition of ten Starlink satellites, after receiving approval from the Federal Communications Commission earlier this month to include- hi.

[TRENDING: What to know about Biden’s COVID-19 strategy | 2021 Bike Week will happen| Florida no longer releasing overdue vaccine numbers]

According to the forecast for the 45th space wing, the current concern of the launch window will be the thick cloud. Space Force forecasts give the launch window a 60% chance of favorable weather. A front will bring showers to the space shore Saturday morning.

After launch, the Falcon 9 will head south into polar orbit, a rare trajectory that causes the rocket to descend the Florida coast. Due to the unusual path of the SpaceX droneship, of course, I still love you, it will not be north of the launch site waiting to catch the rocket, but south of the Atlantic Ocean.

Earlier in the week, another Falcon 9 launched 60 Internet Starlink satellites from the Cape Canaveral space force station. The successful delivery to low Earth orbit was the 17th part of the SpaceX constellation designed to provide global internet even to remote areas of the world. There were already about 1,000 Starlink satellites in orbit.

SpaceX plans to continue growing this constellation this year with launches every two weeks.

Meanwhile, in Texas, SpaceX crews are working on another test flight of the developing company’s interplanetary spacecraft at the Boca Chica site. Starship’s latest flight shocked online viewers around the world when the spacecraft prototype was launched, made an aerial launch and landed to land explosively.

This weekend’s launch will be the third for SpaceX this year.

Want more space? Subscribe to Space Curious, a podcast by WKMG and Graham Media that answers your intergalactic questions.

Follow where you listen to your favorite podcasts, included Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher and Google Play. New episodes fall every two Wednesdays.

Subscribe to a weekly newsletter to receive the latest news from the space directly in your inbox.