When is SpaceX rocket launch? Pending weather, liftoff from Vandenberg, California, may be seen in Santa Barbara or Los Angeles.
SpaceX launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base
A SpaceX Falcon 9 launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Tuesday, June 18, 2024.
A SpaceX rocket could potentially launch this weekend from Southern California to deploy a batch of Starlink satellites into orbit.
The launch is scheduled to take place Saturday, May 3, from Vandenberg Space Force Base, a Federal Aviation Administration operations plan advisory shows. Backup launch opportunities are possible for Sunday, May 4.
SpaceX, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, will send 26 internet-beaming Starlink satellites for deployment into what’s called low-Earth orbit – an altitude that allows for things like satellites to circle Earth fairly quickly.
The launch comes as the FAA, which licenses commercial rocket launches, has given SpaceX the greenlight to increase its Falcon 9 rocket launches from Vandenberg from 36 per year to 50.
Here’s what to know about the launch, as well as when and where to watch it:
What time is the SpaceX rocket launch from California?
A four-hour launch window for SpaceX to launch a new batch of Starlink satellites into orbit opens at 11:13 a.m. PT (2:13 p.m. ET) Saturday, May 3, according to rocketlaunch.org.
The launch, using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to deliver the satellites, will take place from Launch Complex 4E from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County in California.
Following the delivery and deployment of the satellites, the Falcon 9 rocket’s booster will aim to land on a SpaceX drone ship, nicknamed “Of Course I Still Love You,” in the Pacific Ocean. This allows for SpaceX personnel to recover the booster so it can be reused in future spaceflights.
How to watch SpaceX Starlink launch from Vandenberg, California
SpaceX often provides livestreams of its launches on its website, along with updates on social media site X. However, details for a webcast for the upcoming Starlink launch have not been announced as of Friday, May 2.
Where to watch the Starlink launch in California
If conditions are clear, rocket launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Vandenberg, California, can be viewed from several locations as far as Santa Barbara and Los Angeles.
Space Launch Schedule, a website dedicated to tracking upcoming rocket launches, provided a list of places in California to catch the launch in person:
- 13th Street and Arguello Boulevard, the public site with the closest views of SpaceX launches
- Firefighter Road, an official viewing area on one of the publicly accessible roads closest to several launch complexes, including Complex 4
- Floradale Avenue and West Ocean Avenue, officially designated as the “viewing site for SLC-6” (space launch complex-6)
- Harris Grade Road, which rises about 600 feet above the surrounding area, giving spectators a good elevation to see a launch from most of the base’s complexes
- Renwick Avenue and West Ocean Avenue, another intersection close to the base where spectators can park
- Santa Lucia Canyon Road and Victory Road, provides a partial view of Complex 4
- Surf Beach on Ocean Avenue, the only location where the public can view the ignition and liftoff of rockets from Complex 4
What is the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California? What rockets launch from Vandenberg?
Established in 1941, the Vandenberg Space Force Base, previously Vandenberg Air Force Base, is a site for both military, civil and commercial space launches.
Agencies like NASA and companies like SpaceX routinely launch spacecraft from Vandenberg, a site where where missile testing also takes place. Just recently, for instance, Texas spaceflight company Firefly Aerospace attempted to launch prototype satellites into orbit for Lockheed Martin from the base.
What to know about Starlink
Owned by SpaceX founder Elon Musk, Starlink is a constellation of more than 6,700 satellites that provide internet service to customers around the world.
SpaceX, a commercial spaceflight company, has spent more than six years delivering the satellites to orbit with a regular cadence of rocket launches from Florida and California.
However, last month, billionaire Jeff Bezos’ Amazon completed its first phase in its competition with Starlink to launch Kuiper satellites into low-Earth orbit. Bezos has called his mission, Project Kuiper, with first liftoff April 28, 2025, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Base in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
For the April 28 launch, Amazon contracted with United Launch Alliance to deliver the first 27 of more than 3,200 planned satellites into orbit for Project Kuiper.
Online, Project Kuiper has been referred to as the “Amazon rocket launch.”
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com