Space Test Program 3 Weather Forecast: 90% Favorable for Dec. 6

Meteorologists with the U.S. Space Force 45th Weather Squadron predict a 90% chance of favorable weather Monday, Dec. 6, for launch of the Department of Defense Space Test Program 3 (STP-3) mission on United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 551 rocket. The two-hour launch window opens at 4:04 a.m. EST.

Lifting off from Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) in Florida, the ULA rocket will take the U.S. Department of Defense's (DOD) Space Test Program Satellite-6 (STPSat-6) spacecraft, which hosts NASA's Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) and the NASA-U.S. Naval Research Laboratory Ultraviolet Spectro-Coronagraph (UVSC) Pathfinder.

Forecast Details
High pressure will retreat into the Atlantic Ocean slightly by Monday, bringing light winds from the south, patchy fog slightly reducing visibility, and a slight chance for isolated low topped showers just off the coast Monday morning. Therefore, the primary concern for launch day is the Cumulus Cloud Rule. For Tuesday, some mid-level clouds ahead of a cold front that will stall out near the Florida panhandle could move over the Spaceport, with an isolated low topped shower still possible just offshore.

Join us here on the blog tomorrow morning for live launch updates - live coverage of the launch is scheduled to air on NASA Television, the agency's website, and the NASA App beginning at 3:30 a.m. EST.

Learn more about tomorrow's STP-3 launch by visiting the mission home page at www.ulalaunch.com. To stay updated about LCRD and laser communications, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/lasercomms.