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SpaceX has announced a delay in the launch of a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 21 Starlink satellites due to the impact of Hurricane Hilary on rocket recovery operations. The storm has caused massive landslides and an earthquake in Southern California, affecting the recovery of the reusable first stage booster.

The first stage booster is usually recovered by a barge in the eastern Pacific, which is in the path of Hurricane Hilary. SpaceX recovers the boosters by landing them on a drone ship in the Pacific approximately 8 minutes after launch.

In addition to the hurricane, an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.1 occurred in Ventura County’s town of Ojai, California.

The new target launch date is Monday, August 21 at 11:04 p.m. PT (6:04 UTC on August 22) from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. If necessary, four additional opportunities are available on the same day and four backup opportunities are available on Tuesday, August 22.

This will be the 15th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Crew-1, Crew-2, SXM-8, CRS-23, IXPE, Transporter-4, Transporter-5, Globalstar FM15, ISI EROS C-3, and five Starlink missions. After stage separation, the first stage will land on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship stationed in the Pacific Ocean.

A live webcast of the launch will begin approximately five minutes prior to liftoff.

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