SpaceX has pulled all of their live streams from YouTube and announced that future live streams will be broadcast only on π. The live stream announcement now reads:
A live webcast of this mission will begin on X
@SpaceXabout five minutes prior to liftoff.
Since π video currently has no support for scheduled live stream events in the future, this means that people who wish to watch the official SpaceX live stream have to sit at their computers at a time shortly before the scheduled launch, clicking the βRefreshβ button on π like a rat in a Skinner box, waiting for the post with the live stream player to appear. If the launch is delayed from the originally posted time, as has happened with increasing frequency recently, the only way to find out is if SpaceX happen to post a note indicating the new scheduled launch time. Now, I can understand SpaceX, as a member of the βElon Vitalβ group of companies, wishing to cross-promote its sibling video platform instead of one owned by an Evil Empire cartel that has demonstrated its resolute hostility to all that is honourable, decent, and supportive of the human spirit and destiny, but the fact is YouTube is, at the moment, a superior platform for live streaming, with its ability to schedule transmissions well in advance of the event, allow viewers to wait for them to start with little network bandwidth requirement and no user interaction, be notified of changes in start time, and select video resolution modes appropriate to their display hardware and Internet connection. In addition, π video provides no mechanism for embedding its videos (pre-recorded or live stream) into posts on other sites, forcing users to go directly to their site to view them.
Above, I have embedded a player from Spaceflight Now, which continues to provide live streams on YouTube.
SpaceX plans to launch 22 Starlink V2 mini satellites into the Generation 2 Group 6 shell on 2023-09-08 at 23:56 UTC. The launch will be from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The first stage booster, B1076, will be making its seventh flight, after a turnaround time of 46 days since its last mission. The operational orbit will be 530 km circular at 43Β°. If successful, this will be the 150th consecutive successful landing of a SpaceX booster.
Weather is forecast [PDF] as 60% favourable for launch at the start of the launch window, increasing to 85% toward the end. SpaceX continues to use its flexible launch window schedule for this mission.
If needed, two backup opportunities are available at 11:12 p.m. ET (03:12 UTC on September 9) and 11:30 p.m. ET (03:30 UTC on September 9). Three backup opportunities are also currently available on Saturday, September 9 starting at 7:25 p.m. ET (23:25 UTC) until 10:59 p.m. ET (02:59 UTC on September 10).
Here is a pre-flight preview from Everyday Astronaut.