- The possible impending launch comes nearly a week after SpaceX, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, called off a previous attempt to get the rocket off the ground.
- Like most SpaceX launches, the liftoff will be livestreamed. But the rocket launch will also be widely visible for many spectators across California and even neighboring Arizona.
People in Arizona may see a SpaceX rocket blast off into orbit – ahead of Mother’s Day. The Falcon 9 would deliver the company's latest batch of Starlink internet satellites.
The rocket launch is scheduled to take place Friday, May 9, from neighboring California at the Vandenberg Space Force Base, according to a launch alert there. On board the company's famous 230-foot Falcon 9 rocket will be a payload of 26 internet-beamingStarlink satellites for deploymentinto what's called low-Earth orbit – an altitude that allows for things like satellites to circle Earth fairly quickly.
The possible impending launch comes nearly a week after SpaceX, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, called off a previous attempt to get the rocket off the ground to deploy the satellites.
Like most SpaceX launches, the liftoff will be livestreamed. But the rocket launch will also be widely visible for many spectators across both California and even neighboring Arizona.
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?
The launch window opens at 5 p.m. PT (8 p.m. ET) Friday, May 9, and lasts until 7:21 p.m., according to Vandenberg's alert. If SpaceX opts to scrub the launch, backup opportunities are available beginning at 5 p.m. PT Saturday, May 10.
The launch, using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to deliver the Starlink 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
SpaceX said it will provide a livestream of the launch onits website beginning about five minutes before liftoff, along with updates onsocial media site X.
California rocket launch could be visible in Arizona: Where to watch
Because of Arizona's proximity to the launch site, there's a good chance you can see the spacecraft streak across the sky.
Here's a list of some possible viewing locations compiled by the Arizona Republic, a USA TODAY Network publication.
- Dobbins Lookout, South Mountain, 10919 South Central Ave., Phoenix, Arizona
- Papago Park, 625 N. Galvin Parkway, Phoenix, Arizona
- Fountain Hills, a town in Maricopa County, Arizona, which in 2018 was designated a Dark Sky Community with little light pollution
- Superstition Mountains, located 40 miles from the Greater Phoenix area in Arizona
- Cave Creek, a town in Maricopa County about 30 miles north of Fountain Hills, Arizona
- Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, 3400 Sky Harbor Blvd., Arizona, which has a parking garage that is popular for plane-watching
- Black Canyon City, an unincorporated community in Yavapai County, Arizona
- Any mountain park in Arizona
- Estrella Mountain Regional Park, 14805 W. Vineyard Ave., Goodyear, Arizona
- Skyline Regional Park, 2600 N. Watson Road, Buckeye, Arizona
- White Tank Mountains, 20304 W. White Tank Mountain Road, Waddell, Arizona
- San Tan Mountain Regional Park, 6533 W. Phillips Road, Queen Creek, Arizona
- Monument Hill,a150-foot slope located on 115th Avenue, in Arizona
What is SpaceX?
Space Exploration Technologies Corp., more widely known as SpaceX, is an astronautics company owned and co-founded by Elon Musk, the world's richest man.
The commercial spaceflight company is contracted with NASA and the Department of Defense to use many of its spacecraft to help launch government missions. SpaceX also conducts many of its own rocket launches – most using its two-stage Falcon 9 rocket – including for private crewed missions and to deliver communication satellites to orbit.
What is Starlink?
Owned by SpaceX founder Elon Musk,Starlink is a constellation of more than6,700 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.
As of late-April, though, billionaire Jeff Bezos' Amazon isseeking to compete with Starlink by launching a group of satellitesof its own. On April 28, Amazon contracted with the United Launch Allianceto deliver the first 27 of more than 3,200 planned satellitesinto low-Earthorbit for its Project Kuiper.
The inaugural launch of what is often referred to online as the "Amazon rocket launch" took place from Cape Canaveral Space Force Base in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com
