Tonight's launch was SpaceX's 54th Falcon 9 mission of 2025 and 56th liftoff so far this year. The other two missions involved Starship, SpaceX's next-generation super-heavy-lift rocket. The company is gearing up for another Starship test flight — the vehicle's ninth overall — in the coming weeks.

Hours before liftoff, the National Weather Service had issued flood advisories up until 8:45 p.m. Friday for portions of rain-socked North Brevard.

That's when SpaceX plans to launch its next Falcon 9 rocket early Monday morning from Florida's Space Coast. SpaceX is now targeting 12:06 a.m. Monday, May 12, to launch the Falcon 9 on another Starlink mission from pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.