This rocket launch may be visible in Arizona: What time is SpaceX Falcon 9 liftoff?
The commercial spaceflight company founded by billionaire Elon Musk is planning to get another Falcon 9 rocket off the ground from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County. The two-stage 230-foot rocket, one of the world's most active, has become central in SpaceX's ongoing campaign to deploy internet-beaming Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit.
And fortunately for space enthusiasts in Arizona, the impending weekday launch, coming after Father's Day weekend, could be visible in parts of the state, as long as weather conditions are clear.
But it's important to keep in mind that 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.
Here's what to know about the launch from Southern California, as well as when and where to watch it in neighboring Arizona:
California rocket launches: Here's a look at the upcoming schedule from Vandenberg
A Federal Aviation Administration operations plan advisory indicates SpaceX is targeting the launch for as early as Tuesday, June 17, with backup opportunities Wednesday, June 18.
However, multiple websites that track rocket launches suggest the launch window could open at 5:51 p.m. Monday, June 16. Neither Vandenberg Space Force Base nor SpaceX have officially confirmed the launch.
The launch, using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to deliver the Starlink satellites, 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.
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.
SpaceX will provide a livestream of the launch on its website beginning about five minutes before liftoff, along with updates on social media site X.
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
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.
Owned by SpaceX founder Elon Musk, Starlink is a constellation of more than 7,000 satellites that provide internet service to customers around the world. SpaceX has spent more than six years delivering the satellites to orbit with a regular cadence of rocket launches from both Florida and California.
While most satellite internet services operate from single geostationary satellites orbiting Earth at about 22,236 miles, Starlink is a constellation of thousands of satellites that operate from a low-Earth orbit, about 341 miles up. That allows Starlink's satellites to have lower latency and data time between user and the satellite, improving performance of things like streaming, online gaming and video calls.
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 today: Falcon 9 may be visible in Arizona
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