SpaceX is set to send up the second launch this year of a communications satellite for the Spanish military.
A Falcon 9 on the SpainSat NG II mission is set to lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 targeting a four-hour launch window from 9:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m. A backup opportunity is available on Thursday during the same window.
Space Launch Delta 45’s weather squadron forecasts a better than 95% chance for good conditions.
The first-stage booster for the mission is making its 22nd flight, but won’t have a return landing as it will need more power to send the satellite to its geosynchronous transfer orbit.
The booster has previously flown the NASA CRS-26, OneWeb Launch 16, Intelsat IS-40e, SES O3b mPOWER-C, Ovzon-3, Eutelsat 26D, Turksat 6A, Maxar 2, SXM-9 and 12 Starlink missions.
It’s one of several boosters with more than 20 missions under its belt. The fleet-leader just launched earlier this week on its 31st flight, making a successful recovery landing.
The company has managed more than 500 Falcon 9 booster landings since the first success in 2015 with boosters now cleared to launch up to 40 times.
Falcon 9 launches the SpainSat NG I mission to orbit from Florida pic.twitter.com/n4uCtvqocY
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) January 30, 2025
SpaceX launched the SpainSat NG I mission in January. The NG stands for next generation.
“With cutting-edge civil and military technology, it strengthens secure defense communications and consolidates Spain’s technological sovereignty,” said a post on X from the Spanish Ministry of Defense, which has promoted the satellite system as part of its commitment to NATO.
The satellites were constructed by Airbus, which touts them as “a constellation of satellites providing military grade secure communications to the Spanish Armed Forces and its partners.”
The launch marks the 87th orbital mission from all Space Coast pads with SpaceX responsible for all but five.
SpaceX has two more Florida launches lined up from Cape Canaveral before the end of the month. United Launch Alliance, which has flown four missions so far this year, could also fly its next mission, an Atlas V rocket, before November.
Blue Origin, which flew its debut New Glenn launch in January, is prepped for its next launch as well on a mission for NASA to send a pair of satellites to Mars. That launch could be in early November.
The three launch service providers could combine to break 2024’s record 93 launches by mid-November, and likely well on the way to pass 100 launches for the year.
