SpaceX launch, landing weather looks good

The weather looks good for the Sunday launch of a secretive mission from Kennedy Space Center on a SpaceX rocket.

A Falcon 9 rocket topped with a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office is expected to vault off pad 39A into mostly clear skies, according to the Air Force's 45th Weather Squadron. Weather is 80 percent "go" during the launch window that opens at 7 a.m. and closes at 9 a.m. Primary concerns are liftoff winds and the presence of cumulus clouds.

If the launch – SpaceX's first dedicated mission for the NRO – is delayed to Monday, weather slips to 70 percent "go" due to added upper-level cloudiness over KSC.

[SpaceX completes static test fire ahead of Falcon 9 NRO launch]

The first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket is expected to land at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Landing Zone 1 shortly after liftoff.

KSC saw smoke and fire on Tuesday when SpaceX successfully completed a pre-launch check known as a "static test fire" of the rocket's nine Merlin main engines. Test fires are critical checks that allow teams to run through practice countdowns with fueled rockets.

Contact Emre Kelly at aekelly@floridatoday.com or 321-242-3715. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook at @EmreKelly.