The government shutdown has strained air-traffic control and led the FAA to restrict commercial space launches to 10 p.m.–6 a.m., forcing schedule shifts on Florida’s Space Coast. SpaceX plans a Falcon 9 Starlink 6-87 launch at 10:21 p.m. ET carrying 29 satellites; its booster, on a third flight, aims to land on the droneship Just Read the Instructions. Weather gives a 60% go today but would improve to over 95% with a 24-hour delay. Blue Origin won an FAA exception to attempt New Glenn NG-2 in an afternoon window carrying two NASA-bound Mars satellites.
SpaceX Aims for Record 94th Space Coast Launch Tonight Under New FAA Nighttime Curfew
The government shutdown has strained air-traffic control and led the FAA to restrict commercial space launches to 10 p.m.–6 a.m., forcing schedule shifts on Florida’s Space Coast. SpaceX plans a Falcon 9 Starlink 6-87 launch at 10:21 p.m. ET carrying 29 satellites; its booster, on a third flight, aims to land on the droneship Just Read the Instructions. Weather gives a 60% go today but would improve to over 95% with a 24-hour delay. Blue Origin won an FAA exception to attempt New Glenn NG-2 in an afternoon window carrying two NASA-bound Mars satellites.
03:20 AM, 11/11/2025Technology
FAA curfew reshapes Space Coast schedule as government shutdown strains air-traffic control
The federal government shutdown has reduced air-traffic control capacity, prompting the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to limit commercial space launches to a nighttime window of 10 p.m.–6 a.m. until the shutdown ends. Those restrictions have forced schedule changes for multiple missions from Florida’s Space Coast.
Starlink 6-87: Falcon 9 targets late-night liftoff
SpaceX plans to launch a Falcon 9 on the Starlink 6-87 mission carrying 29 satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40. The vehicle is scheduled to lift off at 10:21 p.m. ET, which fits the FAA’s new curfew; the original launch window had been earlier in the day.
The first-stage booster will be making its third flight and aims to return for a downrange recovery on the droneship Just Read the Instructions stationed in the Atlantic.
Weather and recovery outlook
Space Launch Delta 45’s weather team currently rates the odds of acceptable launch-site conditions at 60%, citing elevated upper-level wind shear and marginal conditions at the booster recovery area. Forecasters say that a 24-hour slip would raise the chance of favorable launch-site weather to better than 95%, though booster-recovery weather would still be a concern.
Record attempt and other missions
If successful, this flight would become the 94th orbital launch from the Space Coast across all providers — surpassing the previous record of 93 set in 2024. SpaceX’s early Sunday Starlink launch had already matched last year’s total. To date, SpaceX accounts for all but five of those Space Coast launches; United Launch Alliance has flown four and Blue Origin one.
Blue Origin negotiated an FAA exception to attempt the second flight of its New Glenn (NG-2) rocket on Wednesday in an afternoon window from 2:50–4:17 p.m. ET. NG-2’s primary payload is a pair of NASA-designated satellites bound for Mars. If that mission succeeds, it would become the Space Coast’s 95th orbital launch.
United Launch Alliance and SpaceX have additional FAA-approved missions scheduled, but their windows fall after 10 p.m. The FAA’s nighttime restrictions will remain in place until the government shutdown ends.