A SpaceX rocket is scheduled to launch Friday evening from the coast of Santa Barbara County.
The launch is scheduled for 8:14 p.m. from Vandenberg Space Center. The rocket will travel south along the coast carrying a payload of National Reconnaissance OfficeThe agency builds and operates the United States’ fleet of spy satellites.
The first stage of the rocket will land on an unmanned ship at sea.
The rocket may be visible from all over Los Angeles, but it’s unlikely to deliver the dramatic spectacle of previous launches under darker skies unless it launches later in the two-hour launch window. The sun is set at 8:08 p.m. Friday in Los Angeles, just a few minutes before sunset. The launch window opens.
The rocket and its exhaust plume sometimes Visible hundreds of miles away As it rises along the coast, if the sky is clear and dark enough. Launches after sunset and before sunrise usually provide the best views as the rocket reflects the sun’s rays against a dark sky.
Susan Strauss
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is seen in Orange County.
Jim Parker
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as seen from Agoura Hills.
Harold Shaffer
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is seen flying across Toluca Lake.
Patty Wunderlich
Hawthorne-based SpaceX has launched 96 successful missions on Falcon rockets in 2023, surpassing the previous annual record of 61 orbital launches in 2022.