Falcon Heavy NROL-97 Is Targeted for 11:53 p.m. ET Tonight

So basically: SpaceX still has Falcon Heavy’s NROL-97 launch tonight. The target is 11:53 p.m. ET, from Kennedy Space Center’s LC-39A. If it slips, Friday night is 11:48 p.m. ET.

The clock

As of this morning, SpaceX’s mission page says Thursday, Oct. 1, with liftoff targeted for 11:53 p.m. ET. The backup on the same page is Friday, Oct. 2, at 11:48 p.m. ET. The webcast is supposed to start about 10 minutes before liftoff.

This is a National Reconnaissance Office mission. SpaceX’s page links the NRO’s own NROL-97 note and does not describe the payload.

The rocket

SpaceX says the two side boosters are on their second and fourth flights. Between them they have already flown GOES-U, Viasat-3 F3, and the Roman Space Telescope. After separation, those two boosters are planned to land at Landing Zone 1 and Landing Zone 2 at Cape Canaveral.

My take

The only fact that matters before midnight is whether 11:53 holds. SpaceX has a clock and a backup clock. It has not said what is inside the fairing. Tonight is a heavy-lift national-security launch with two boosters coming back to land. The payload stays a closed box.