SpaceX is set for its first Falcon 9 launch of 2021 this Thursday, January 7.
The payload within Falcon 9 will be a Turkish communications satellite, the Turksat 5A, taking place at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Space Launch Complex 40 in Florida.
The launch window begins at 8:28 p.m. ET on Thursday evening and goes until 12:28 a.m. ET Friday. SpaceX has yet to officially tweet out confirmation of the mission, but all signs point it’s ready to go, as noted by Turksat.
Turksat 5A was built through a team effort between Turksat, Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) and Airbus Defense and Space.
Türkiye'nin beşinci nesil uydularının ilki olan #Türksat5A, Türkiye saatine göre 8 Ocak Cuma günü 04.26'da, ABD yerel saatine göre ise 7 Ocak Perşembe günü saat 20.26'da, uzaya fırlatılacak. https://t.co/zT9yrDOgEU@UABakanligi #UlaşıncaBaşlar pic.twitter.com/pwie4GxRWj
— Türksat A.Ş. (@turksat) January 5, 2021
The launch was originally set for January 4, but was delayed to Thursday. Falcon 9 will land aboard the drone ship Just Read The Instructions in the Atlantic Ocean.
Following this launch of Turksat 5A, on January 14, two Starlink missions are planned, along with Transporter-1, SpaceX’s first dedicated rideshare mission.
According to @nextspaceflight, SpaceX has applied to the FCC to also add 10 Starlink satellites to the Transporter-1 mission, which would send internet satellites into polar orbit for the first time, expanding the service’s reach:
SpaceX is trying to get FCC approval to launch 10 Starlink satellites on Transporter-1. This would be the first launch of Starlink spacecraft into a polar orbit. However, it is unclear if SpaceX will get approval in time. Transporter-1 is NET Jan. 14.https://t.co/CHsGxvH662
— Michael Baylor (@nextspaceflight) January 5, 2021
