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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — If all goes as planned, Floridians will soon get a chance to see their first daytime rocket launch in months.
- 1st daytime launch since spring set to lift off from KSC
- SpaceX to deliver communications satellite for Qatar
- KSC Visitor Center warns of heavy traffic, crowds
- LAUNCH SCHEDULE: Upcoming launches from Florida
SpaceX is set to launch the Es’hail-2 communications satellite for Qatar aboard a Falcon 9 rocket Thursday afternoon.
The satellite will provide communications for the Middle East and areas of North Africa.
The rocket is set to blast off from Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center. Forecasters at the 45th Space Wing at Patrick Air Force Base are calling for a 60 percent chance of favorable weather.
The launch window is from 3:46 p.m. to 5:29 p.m. EST — the first one during daylight hours since this past spring. The past several have been overnight launches.
The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is warning spectators to be prepared for heavy traffic in the area:
After liftoff, SpaceX intends to land the Falcon 9 first-stage booster the company’s drone ship several hundred miles out in the Atlantic.
Coincidentally, Russia is also preparing to launch a cargo ship to the ISS on Friday. The Progress resupply ship is set to blast off from Kazakhstan at 1:14 p.m. for a planned Sunday afternoon arrival.
Stay with Spectrum News for full coverage of Thursday’s SpaceX launch — and if you’re in Florida, you can watch it live on TV, website or the Spectrum TV app.
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