Scott Powers
UPDATE (11:30 a.m.): According to a press release, due to inclement weather, the JCSAT-14 launch is now scheduled for no earlier than 1:21 a.m. EDT on Friday, May 6. There is two-hour launch window.
Original story:
A SpaceX Falcon 9 is prepared to launch in the wee hours of Thursday morning to carry a private communications satellite into space, and the Air Force thinks Wednesday’s rain ought to clear in time.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 is set to lift the SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation’s JCSAT-14 satellite into orbit from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The launch is set to happen no earlier than 1:21 a.m. Thursday. There is a two-hour launch window.
The Air Force’s 45th Space Wing Weather Squadron is projecting an 80 percent chance of favorable launch weather, with the primary concerns being thick clouds and wind.
JCSAT-14 will become part of a constellation of 16 JCSAT satellites serving the Pacific rim. It will provide video distribution; data transfer communications and back-up service capabilities in Asia, Russia, Oceania, Middle East and North America.
