Trust us, pre-dawn SpaceX launch from Cape Canaveral is worth going outside for

James Dean | Florida Today

Update: Successful liftoff from Cape Canaveral at 5:42 a.m.! Dragon should arrive at the ISS early Monday.

Yes, it will be early, but SpaceX's next supply run to the International Space Station, targeting a 5:42 a.m. Friday liftoff, should be worth getting out of bed to watch.

NASA and SpaceX managers are grateful that a Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule are scheduled to fly from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station before dawn.

First, it means less chance of thunderstorms that are so prevalent during summer afternoons on the Space Coast.

Friday's forecast from the Air Force's 45th Weather Squadron predicts a 90 percent chance of weather meeting launch criteria for Friday's instantaneous window at Launch Complex 40.

More: What caused this morning's gorgeous SpaceX Falcon 9 launch? A twilight phenomenon.

"This time of year, early morning launches are a blessing," said Kirk Shireman, NASA's ISS program manager, during a prelaunch briefing Thursday at Kennedy Space Center.

Second, the timing roughly 45 minutes before sunrise may create conditions that produce a particularly striking scene as the rocket rises aloft.

"There’s a chance it’ll be a spectacular show in the sky, so it’s definitely worth getting up for," said Jessica Jensen, SpaceX's director of Dragon mission management.

During twilight launches just before sunrise or after sunset, the rocket climbs from darkness on the ground into sunlight angled high up in the sky.

That light sometimes captures the rocket's exhaust plume as it condenses, appearing to wrap the rocket in a sheath of vapor.

"We’ve seen sometimes when it’s after sunset, while it’s dark here on the surface, when these rockets go further up, the light angle can still capture some of the smoke plume from the rocket," said Derrick Weitlich, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Melbourne. "So it kind of illuminates it to a degree, and it becomes more visible. That can happen near sunrise, too."

Memorable examples include a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch just after sunset on Dec. 23, 2017, that dazzled spectators in Southern California, and a pre-dawn flight by a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket and Navy satellite from Cape Canaveral on Sept. 2, 2015.

SpaceX on Thursday said it was performing extra analysis on part of the Dragon capsule's heat shield, an issue that must be cleared before the early Friday launch can proceed.

If Friday's attempt scrubs or is postponed, the next opportunity would fall in complete darkness at 4:54 a.m. Sunday, July 1.

Contact Dean at 321-242-3668 or jdean@floridatoday.com.

Twitter: @flatoday_jdean

Facebook: /spaceteamgo

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Watch SpaceX launch the secretive Zuma mission and nail the landing SpaceX successfully launched the secretive Zuma mission from Cape Canaveral on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2018 and landed the Falcon 9 rocket's first stage.