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Arabsat BADR-8 - L-3 Days

Falcon 9

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Valid Period

May 23 - May 24, 2023

Issued

Sat May 20, 2023 at 17:30 UTC (13:30 ET)

Forecast Discussion

Space Launch Delta 45

A very active weather pattern will emerge next week due to the combination of a remnant surface boundary, a series of mid-level disturbances, and plentiful moisture as East Central Florida enters the summer wet season. After a relatively lower coverage of showers and storms over the weekend, a slow-moving surface boundary will approach from the north, increasing moisture across the area heading into the start of next week. On Tuesday, numerous showers and storms will develop across the peninsula and linger into the evening and overnight hours. These storms will be enhanced beyond typical surface heating by a mid-level disturbance, allowing activity to continue in the overnight hours. Because of these factors, the probability of violation is elevated with the main concerns being the Cumulus Cloud Rule, Surface Electric Fields Rule, and Anvil Cloud Rules, all related to the convection and associated cloud cover in the area. At this point model guidance does not show any significant change to the messy pattern on Wednesday into Wednesday night, so the probability of violation and primary concerns are the same for the backup day.

Primary Launch Date

Launch Day

Primary Window

30%
PGO

Primary Concerns

  • Cumulus Cloud Rule
  • Surface Electric Fields Rule
  • Anvil Cloud Rules

Additional Risk Criteria

CriteriaRisk Level
Upper-Level Wind ShearLow
Booster Recovery WeatherLow
Solar ActivityLow

Backup Opportunities

24-Hour Delay

Backup Window

30%
PGO

Primary Concerns

  • Cumulus Cloud Rule
  • Surface Electric Fields Rule
  • Anvil Cloud Rules

Additional Risk Criteria

CriteriaRisk Level
Upper-Level Wind ShearLow
Booster Recovery WeatherLow
Solar ActivityLow