AFTER a number of delays, Elon Musk’s SpaceX is finally ready to launch an Earth-observation satellite today.
SpaceX will be streaming the event live so you can watch it online.
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How to watch latest SpaceX launch
You should be able to watch the event on SpaceX’s YouTube channel.
It has captioned the live link: “SpaceX is targeting Monday, January 31 for launch of the COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation FM2 mission to low Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
“The instantaneous launch window is at 6:11 p.m. EST, or 23:11 UTC.”
You can tune in from 6pm EST (23:11 GMT).
The launch has been delayed repeatedly because of recent bad weather in the US.
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The satellite is on top of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
Today’s weather forecast suggests there’s a 90% chance the rocket will launch as planned.
The launch is part of the Cosmo-SkyMed Second Generation program that’s being funded by the Italian Space Agency.
It involves two satellites which will observe Earth for “emergency prevention purposes”.
The European Space Agency explained: “COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation[‘s] purpose is to monitor the Earth for the sake of emergency prevention, strategy, scientific and commercial purposes, providing data on a global scale to support a variety of applications among which risk management, cartography, forest and environment protection, natural resources exploration, land management, defense and security, maritime surveillance, food and agriculture management.”
Musk’s rocket should drop the satellite off in orbit and then return for a quick vertical touchdown.
It’s a busy week for SpaceX as it plans to launch some of its own Starlink internet satellites tomorrow.
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