SpaceX Falcon 9 to launch on NASA satellite mission: Will it be visible in Arizona sky?
Instead, aboard the spacecraft will be twin NASA satellites that will orbit Earth in tandem while studying how the sun's powerful activity can disrupt our planet's magnetosphere.
But that information may not matter much to those on the ground who just want to see a rocket thundering high overhead after getting off the ground.
Visibility for those in Arizona may be tough: The next launch from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, California, is scheduled for the daylight hours – making the Falcon 9 much more unlikely to be visible as it soars upward.
What's more, rocket launches can be – and often are – scrubbed or delayed due to any number of factors, including poor weather conditions or unexpected issues with spacecraft. Check back with azcentral.com for any updates on the rocket launch.
In the meantime, here's what to know about the launch from Southern California, as well as when and where to potentially spot the rocket in neighboring Arizona:
California rocket launches: SpaceX rocket launches have increased in California, and not all residents are happy
What time is the SpaceX rocket launch from California?
A Federal Aviation Administration operations plan advisory indicates the launch is being targeted for Tuesday, July 22, with backup opportunities available the following day, if needed.
The launch window opens at 11:13 a.m. PT, according to NASA.
The Vandenberg Space Force Base has not yet provided an official launch alert.
Where is the next rocket launch from California?
The launch will take place from Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, California. Most launches from Vandenberg fly at a south or southeast trajectory.
What is the next mission launching from Vandenberg?
SpaceX will serve as the launch service provider for a NASA mission to launch twin satellites to study solar activity's effects on Earth. The TRACERS mission (Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites) will make use of the company's famous two-stage 230-foot Falcon 9 rocket, one of the world's most active, to get the satellites into orbit, where they will observe observe how solar wind interact with Earth's magnetosphere.
How to watch SpaceX Starlink launch livestream
SpaceX may provide a webcast of the Starlink launch close to liftoff time on its website, along with updates on social media site X. The company often retweets posts by its founder, Elon Musk.
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 people there can see the spacecraft streak across the sky, especially at night or very early morning.
Here's a list of some possible viewing locations compiled by The Arizona Republic, a USA TODAY Network publication.
Dobbins Lookout, South Mountain, 10919 S. 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 metro Phoenix 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
, 14805 W. Vineyard Ave., Goodyear, Arizona
, 2600 N. Watson Road, Buckeye, Arizona
, 20304 W. White Tank Mountain Road, Waddell, Arizona
, 6533 W. Phillips Road, Queen Creek, Arizona
Monument Hill, a 150-foot slope on 115th Avenue, in Arizona
What is SpaceX?
Elon Musk, the world's richest man, founded SpaceX in 2002.
The commercial spaceflight company is headquartered at Starbase in South Texas near the U.S.-Mexico border. The site, which is where SpaceX has been conducting routine flight tests of its 400-foot megarocket known as Starship, was recently voted by residents to become its own city.
SpaceX conducts many of its own rocket launches, most using the Falcon 9 rocket, from both California and Florida. That includes a regular cadence of deliveries of Starlink internet satellites into orbit, and occasional privately-funded commercial crewed missions on the Dragon.
The most recent of SpaceX's private human spaceflights, a mission known as Fram2, took place in April. SpaceX was also famously involved in funding and operating the headline-grabbing Polaris Dawn crewed commercial mission in September 2024.
SpaceX additionally benefits from billions of dollars in contracts from NASA and the Department of Defense by providing launch services for classified satellites and other payloads.
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: SpaceX rocket launch, NASA mission: Will people in Arizona see liftoff
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Best minimalist wallet of 2025 Sarah Tew/CNET Photo Gallery 1/1 Sarah Tew/CNET Best overall minimalist wallet Ridge Wallet Pros Made from titanium Keeps your cards tight and safe Adjustable design Cons Can be pricey for the best version Of all the rugged, minimalist wallets I tested, I found the Ridge to be the most flexible, ironic for a wallet made of titanium (or aerospace-grade aluminum if you pick a different color). The sandwich design of the Ridge wallet securely accommodates one card as easily as it can 12, and the durable but pliable money clip holds one bill as tightly as a bigger wad. The cutout provides quick access to all of your cards, and the tough elastic strap that holds everything together inspires confidence. This wallet is almost comically overdesigned, and you can use the included screwdriver to disassemble the pieces, remove the money clip and bring the money strap to the exterior. 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The leather is premium, and the blue band that acts as a money clip is tight enough to use as a phone grip, too. ... Show more Get it now $60 at Bluebonnet James Bricknell / CNET Photo Gallery 1/1 James Bricknell / CNET Best branded minimalist wallet Ridge NFL wallet Pros Same Ridge quality Sturdy elastic Repping your favorite team Cons The artwork could be more dynamic The Ridge wallets are fantastic, and while the titanium series can be a little pricey, these NFL-branded ones feel well-priced for what you get. The solid aluminum constructed feels good in your hand and the powder-coated surface adds to that premium feel. If you love your football team and you want a way to show it stylishly and ruggedly, go for an NFL Ridge. You also get a spare elastic and a money clip in the presentation box, making it the perfect gift for the football fan in your life. If I had one complaint it would be the lack of dynamic artwork, but if all you want is to show your team colors and logo, they work for that. ... Show more Get it now $99 at Amazon $99 at Ridge Other minimalist wallets we've tested Not all of the minimalist wallets we've tested get to be called the best. Some of them are OK. Some of them are really not OK. Here are some of the wallets that did OK at testing but didn't quite make the cut. Discommon Goods Photo Gallery 1/1 Discommon Goods Discommon Wallet 3.0 I really like the aesthetic of the Discommon Wallet 3.0. The vacuum-formed shape and little hints of color look good and can hold six cards comfortably. It's also very well made and feels like it would stand the test of time. What keeps it out of our best choices is the clamshell. No matter how hard I try, the wallet doesn't stay closed enough to be entirely safe. I wish that there was a small magnet near the front to hold the edges closed so that it didn't open by itself. ... Show more Get it now $110 at Discommon Goods Sarah Tew/CNET Photo Gallery 1/1 Sarah Tew/CNET Vaultskin Notting Hill Vaultskin's tasteful Notting Hill wallet manages to cram a lot into a small package. The defining feature here is the zipper. For some, it will be a deal-breaker — for its bulk, or whatever it connotes, style-wise — while others will find the security of a zippered compartment appealing for containing their credit and debit cards and money. If you're pro-zipper, there's much to like. The exterior features three slots that can accommodate cards or money. A fourth hidden slot can store two or three more cards, which you can eject out the top using the genuine leather pull tab. The inside has two pouches, one of which snaps down, and a strap that can stow several more cards. There's also a small key hook. Although it says "London" on the packaging, this wallet is made in China. ... Show more Get it now $57 at Amazon $57 at Walmart Sarah Tew/CNET Photo Gallery 1/1 Sarah Tew/CNET Trayvax's Armored Summit Wallet Trayvax's Armored Summit Wallet delivers an appealing combination of ruggedness and extra features at a reasonable price. It can hold up to seven cards and five bills, and like the Dango, it's built from sturdy materials — steel and melonite in this case — in the US. Also like the Dango, it has an integrated bottle opener. Still, Trayvax's buckling strap is a deal killer for me. It's nylon, not elastic, and I found it quite difficult to adjust when I needed to remove a few cards or make more room for additional money. ... Show more Get it now $45 at Amazon Sarah Tew/CNET Photo Gallery 1/1 Sarah Tew/CNET Thread Wallets Elastic The Thread Wallets Elastic resembles a fancy Ace bandage or compression sleeve. It's made of a stretchy material, and can easily hold 10 cards and some money. It also has a small key ring. Although it's billed as specifically "for women" — and it was my 10-year-old daughter's favorite of the bunch — that seems a bit reductive. This would be an excellent wallet for anyone. The only drawback to this simple, stylish wallet is that the excess material on the interior bunches up into a lump, a minor but considerable design blemish. ... Show more Get it now $16 at Amazon Factors to consider when buying a minimalist wallet There are many factors to consider when buying the right minimalist wallet. I've tried to boil it down to a few key ones but remember, we are all different, so your mileage may vary. The top things to consider are: How many cards do you really need? Are you worried about RFID blocking? Are you taking cash along with you? What material do you want it to be? The most important factor in this list is the first one and will often dictate what your minimalist wallet looks like. Do you only need two to five cards? then a no-folding wallet, or possibly a mechanical opening wallet could be a good choice. If you need more than that then a bifold or even trifold wallet may be your only option. Most minimalist wallets these days come with RFID blocking as standard, so it's more than likely you will have that. Double check on the listing to make sure, if it's important to you, but know most do come with it. That's also true for some kind of money clip or elastic strap to hold a small amount of cash. If you are looking to take a large amount of paper money with you, a minimalist wallet may not be for you. The size of the wallet will also dictate the materials used. A mechanical wallet will be made of a metal of some kind, while other minimalist wallets will be made of leather or a vegan leather substitute. Deciding on the material and the number of cards you want to carry will likely give you the best indication of the type of wallet you'll want to buy. How we test minimalist wallets Testing wallets is, as you might imagine, a fairly subjective process. These wallets come in many sizes, shapes and materials so it's important to test on those merits. Trying to jam 10 cards into a wallet designed to hold three is pointless and not a true test. All wallets are subjected to a vigorous shake test where we try to dislodge the cards from the inside, and if they have a money clip/strap on the outside, I try to get that to fall out too. Then it's time for my least favorite test: sitting on the wallet in my back pocket for an entire workday. Mostly, I am making sure the wallet doesn't bend, or otherwise damage the cards inside, but I am also checking how uncomfortable it is to sit on for eight hours a day. Any of the wallets that claim to be RFID blockers are subjected to a test using an Android Pixel phone and an RFID card that has my Twitter link on it. If the card can be read through the wallet and my Twitter bio opens on the phone, then the wallet fails the test. Finally, I spent a week using the wallet as my main cardholder in the real world. There are very few tests better than that to give you a clear idea of whether or not it is worth your money. Minimalist wallets FAQ Do minimalist wallets damage cards? If you use a minimalist wallet correctly, it will keep your cards safe and sound. If you overstock it, then you run the risk of damaging your credit cards. Remember, the whole point of a minimalist wallet is to only take the few cards you need for the trip you are on. Most can hold five to 10 cards, so keep that in mind when you choose your wallet. What pocket should you hold your wallet? Despite the traditional notions of holding your wallet in your back pocket, it probably shouldn't be there. Not only does it make it much easier for pickpockets, but it also makes it harder for you to get to it when you need it. If you've ever tried to get your wallet while at a drive-through, you know what I mean. Having your wallet in your back pocket can also damage the cards inside. The cards will have the full pressure of your body, as well as the other cards and metal parts of the wallet pressing down on them. Which minimalist wallet is best? While this is a subjective question, the overall best minimalist wallet that we've tried is Ridge. That's because it's made with tough and durable materials but is still flexible enough to accommodate up to 12 cards. There's also a strap or clip for cash, too. The Ridge Wallet comes in a variety of colors, and NFL fans can also rep their favorite teams. If you get a Ridge, expect it to last for years. Why are Ridge wallets so popular? Ridge wallets have become very popular, and for good reason. These hard minimalist wallets have a unique aesthetic design, are made of titanium (or aluminum, depending on color) and can hold one card as easily as 12. They come in a variety of colors, have RFID blocking technology and look incredible. They're leading the market when it comes to hard, minimalist wallets. Which RFID blocking wallets actually work? Several of the wallets we mention in this list have RFID blocking technology, which means your cards won't get scanned by thieves. Out of the ones we've listed, the Ridge Wallet, Hammer Anvil Minimalist wallet and Groove Life have been reliable on the RFID blocking front. We tested this feature out by attempting to use an Android phone to scan an RFID card with our X link on it; these wallets prevented that from happening. Do RFID-blocking wallets mess up my cards? No, RFID blocking wallets will not mess up your cards. They're designed to prevent unauthorized reading of the RFID chips, but won't have an affect on the magnetic strip or chip on your cards.
