Live coverage: SpaceX to launch Friday morning Starlink mission from Cape Canaveral

March 12, 2026

File: A Falcon 9 rocket stands in the launch position at Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station ahead of the planned liftoff of the Starlink 6-61 mission on Oct. 22, 2024. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now

SpaceX is starting off the weekend with two planned Falcon 9 rocket launches from both Florida and California. The pair are scheduled to fly within just a few hours of each other.

First up is the Starlink 10-48 mission, which will launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to deliver 29 Starlink V2 Mini satellites into low Earth orbit.

Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 is scheduled for 8:10:40 a.m. EDT (1210:40 UTC). The rocket will on a north-easterly trajectory upon leaving the pad.

Spaceflight Now will have live coverage beginning about an hour prior to liftoff.

The 45th Weather Squadron forecast an 80 percent chance for favorable conditions during the Friday morning launch window. Meteorologists are tracking potential interference from strong liftoff winds and cumulus clouds as well as a slightly elevated risk in the booster recovery zone.

SpaceX will launch the mission using the Falcon 9 first stage booster with the tail number 1095. This will be its sixth launch after previously flying five other batches of Starlink satellites.

Nearly 8.5 minutes after liftoff, B1095 will target a landing on the drone ship, ‘Just Read the Instructions,’ positioned in the Atlantic Ocean. If successful, this will be the 153rd landing on this vessel and the 584th booster landing to date for SpaceX.

After Starlink 10-48 payload deployment happens, SpaceX is set to move right into the countdown for the launch of Starlink 17-31 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. That mission is scheduled to launch at 7:33 a.m. PDT (10:33 a.m. EDT / 1433 UTC).