Live coverage: SpaceX attempts to launch Indonesian communications satellite following back-to-back weather scrubs

Update Sept. 10, 5 p.m. EDT: SpaceX pushed back the T-0 liftoff time.

SpaceX is hoping that the third time will be the charm when it comes to launching a communications satellite from an Indonesian company. However, the weather outlook at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station during the launch window continues to look troublesome.

When it’s able to launch, the Nusantara Lima (N5) satellite will be sent into a geosynchronous transfer orbit roughly 27 minutes after liftoff. It’s the latest satellite from Pasifik Satelit Nusantara (PSN).

SpaceX is targeting liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 at 9:55 p.m. EDT (0155 UTC). The rocket will fly due east upon departure from Florida’s Space Coast.

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

On Tuesday, the 45th Weather Squadron forecast a 30 percent chance of liftoff at the opening of the window, which improves to 45 percent towards the end. Meteorologists said the threat of thunderstorms is the main obstacle to launch, noting that “wind gusts of 35 to 45 mph are possible near stronger storms.”

“Deep atmospheric moisture will remain in place across Florida through mid-week,” launch weather officers said. “This, combined with a stalled front across central FL and periods of instability aloft, will continue to elevate chances of showers and storms for the primary launch opportunity.”

SpaceX will launch the N5 satellite using its Falcon 9 rocket with a veteran first stage booster: B1078. This will be the booster’s 23rd flight, following a variety of missions, including NASA’s Crew-6, USSF-124 and ASTSpaceMobile’s BlueBird 1-5 satellites.

After boosting the rocket out of the lower atmosphere, B1078 will head for a landing on the drone ship, ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas,’ in the Atlantic Ocean. A successful landing would represent the 124th recovery for that vessel and 503rd booster landing to date for SpaceX.

Reaching more people

The N5 satellite was announced back in 2022, which was designed to help augment the connectivity provided to resident of Indonesia and the surrounding areas by the Satria-1 satellite. N5 was originally planned to launch in 2023 along with Satria-1, but it was delayed.

Spaceflight Now reached out to PSN regarding the delay prior to the first launch attempt on Monday, but hasn’t received a response.

The satellite is built on the same Boeing-built bus used on Intelsat’s IS-33e spacecraft, which suffered an anomaly on Oct. 19, 2024, resulting in the “total loss” of the spacecraft, which fragmented into dozens of pieces. The satellite was launched in August 2016 and entered service in January 2017.

The root cause of the anomaly was not announced publicly.

The N5 satellite was built on Boeing Space Systems’ 702MP VHTS (Very High Throughput Satellite) bus and is designed to offer a capacity of 160 Gbps with its 101 Ka-band spot beam. It’s built to have a greater than 15-year operating life.

N5 should reach its operating orbit at 113 degrees East over the Equator sometime around mid-January with service expected to begin in early 2026.