SpaceX is now targeting a 1-hour launch window that opens at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday for the Bandwagon-5 mission from Cape Canaveral. If the Falcon 9 lifts off on time, people in Central Florida could get a rare early-morning look at a space jellyfish in the sky.
The launch was supposed to happen Monday morning, but it was scrubbed because of unfavorable recovery weather conditions. That pushed the mission into Tuesday’s narrow window, with Wednesday available as a backup if the rocket does not fly.
The effect draws its name from the shape it can leave behind. A space jellyfish can form when the sun is shining on the upper atmosphere while it is still dark on the ground, allowing rocket exhaust that has reached high altitudes to expand and glow in sunlight. The result can look like a bright, bulb-shaped cloud with wispy trails stretching behind it.
The Bandwagon-5 mission is carrying smaller satellites and re-entry vehicles into orbit as part of a rideshare launch. Those re-entry vehicles are meant to bring some, and possibly all, of the satellites back to Earth later, making the mission more than a simple delivery to space.
The booster flying Tuesday is no newcomer. It will be making its 19th flight and previously launched SpaceX and NASA's Crew-9 mission along with 10 Starlink missions. After stage separation, it will try to land on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
That recovery attempt is part of the same story that delayed Monday's launch. The rocket can create the glowing plume that has people watching the sky, but the first stage still has to come back to sea, and weather over the recovery area was not good enough to keep the mission on schedule. WKMG said it had seen spectacular pictures of a similar effect about a week earlier, which is one reason the Tuesday window is getting so much attention.
For now, the moment to watch is early Tuesday, not later in the week. If the launch slips again, Wednesday is the next chance for Bandwagon-5 to leave the pad and send up another display that could be seen across Central Florida.
