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SpaceX and ULA Friday Launches Will Mark Rare Same-Day Lift-Off Doubleheader from Cape Canaveral

By  //  May 28, 2026

United Launch Alliance targeting 7:33 p.m. for liftoff of an Atlas V rocket from Launch Complex 41

Friday’s SpaceX and United Launch Alliance launches will mark a rare same-day launch doubleheader from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

BREVARD COUNTY • CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, FLORIDA – A busy space day on the Space Coast is set to begin Friday morning as SpaceX prepares to launch a Falcon 9 rocket carrying another batch of Starlink internet satellites into orbit.

The SpaceX liftoff is scheduled for 8:03 a.m. Friday from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Later Friday evening, United Launch Alliance is targeting 7:33 p.m. for the launch of an Atlas V rocket from nearby Launch Complex 41.

The mission, dubbed Starlink 10-53, will launch 29 satellites into low Earth orbit as the company continues to expand its global broadband network.

If needed, SpaceX has a launch window extending until 11:52 a.m.

Following liftoff, the Falcon 9 rocket will travel along a northeast trajectory before deploying the satellites into orbit.

The launch is expected to be visible across much of Brevard County and the Space Coast, weather permitting.

Forecasters with the Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron are predicting generally favorable conditions for the morning mission, giving an 80% chance of acceptable launch weather.

Meteorologists identified cumulus clouds and anvil clouds as the primary concerns that could briefly delay the countdown.

Friday’s launch will mark the first half of a rare same-day launch doubleheader from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

United Launch Alliance is targeting 7:33 p.m. for the launch of an Atlas V rocket from nearby Launch Complex 41. Weather conditions for the evening mission appear significantly less favorable, however, with forecasters predicting only a 30% chance of acceptable launch weather due to expected afternoon showers and thunderstorms moving along Florida’s east coast.

Later Friday evening, United Launch Alliance is targeting 7:33 p.m. for the launch of an Atlas V rocket from nearby Launch Complex 41.

Weather conditions for the evening mission appear significantly less favorable, however, with forecasters predicting only a 30% chance of acceptable launch weather due to expected afternoon showers and thunderstorms moving along Florida’s east coast.

The Space Coast has seen a rapid pace of launch activity throughout 2026, with both SpaceX and ULA maintaining aggressive schedules from Cape Canaveral and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

SpaceX’s live webcast coverage of the Starlink mission is expected to begin approximately five minutes before liftoff.