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SpaceX is gearing up for its 15th launch to resupply the International Space Station since beginning commercial cargo service to the research complex in 2012.
Liftoff is set for 5:42 a.m. EDT (0942 GMT) Friday from Cape Canaveral's Complex 40 launch pad aboard a Falcon 9 rocket powered by a first stage booster recovered and reused after an April 18 flight with NASA's planet-hunting Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite.
Forecasters with the U.S. Air Force's 45th Weather Squadron predict favorable weather for launch before sunrise Friday.
There is a chance of afternoon thunderstorms in the area Thursday, but any weather that could threaten launch should dissipate overnight.
"A recurring weather pattern is expected across Central Florida for the next few days," forecasters wrote in an outlook issued Wednesday. "Southwesterly low-level winds and weak steering flow aloft will allow sea breeze induced storms from both coasts to slowly move inland.
"Storms should move west of the spaceport by early afternoon and any remnant clouds should dissipate prior to launch time. There is a slight weather concern of lingering cumulus or anvil clouds. Upper-level winds will be light with max speeds from the west at 20 knots near 37,000 feet."
Overall, there is a 90 percent probability of weather conditions being acceptable for launch Friday morning.
If the Falcon 9 rocket takes off as scheduled Friday, it will deploy the Dragon supply ship -- also reused from a previous mission -- in orbit around 10 minutes after liftoff.
The automated cargo craft is scheduled to arrive at the space station Monday with nearly 6,000 pounds of supplies and experiments.
Sources:
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/06/falcon-9-static-fire-test-crs-15/
https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/06/28/falcon-9-dragon-crs-15-mission-status-center/
https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/06/...eused-rocket-for-space-station-cargo-mission/