(This story has been updated with new information, including Blue Origin New Glenn rocket launch window time and date.)
Can a rocket launch from Cape Canaveral be seen in Lee County skies?
If conditions are just right, yes.
Most recently, when NASA’s massive Space Launch Systems rocket launched from Kennedy Space Center for the agency’s historic moon-orbiting mission, liftoff was visible across Florida, including Fort Myers.
Though Southwest Florida is known more for its pristine shelling over SpaceX rocket launches, people far beyond the launch pad can sometimes see this phenomenon.
In the next week or so, there may be two opportunities to spot a rocket launch in the Lee County and Collier County area.
Keep reading for more information.
NASA Artemis II rocket launch seen in Fort Myers, Florida
The world tuned in for the NASA Artemis II rocket launch from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral on April 1, 2026, sending astronauts Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Jeremy Hansen on a 10-day journey around the moon. The launch could be seen as far west as Fort Myers and south from Jupiter, Florida.
The Artemis II crew made history with their lunar flyby on April 6, 2026, and set a record the same day for the farthest any human has been from Earth. After the Artemis II astronauts left the moon in the rearview mirror, the crew splashed down April 10, 2026, off the coast of San Diego, California.
When is the next big rocket launch visible in Cape Coral, Fort Myers and Naples, Florida?
Blue Origin’s giant New Glenn rocket is standing tall on the Cape Canaveral launch pad once again in preparation for the new rocket’s third flight. New Glenn will launch AST SpaceMobile’s next-generation Block 2 BlueBird satellite to low-Earth orbit.
While it has been teased that a launch is upcoming, Blue Origin has yet to release an official launch date. According to a Federal Aviation Administration advisory and the Space Coast Office of Tourism, liftoff was set for no earlier than 6:45 a.m. Friday, April 17, from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. A new two-hour launch window will be from 6:45 to 8:45 a.m. ET Sunday, April 19.
Live FLORIDA TODAY Space Team coverage starts two hours before liftoff at floridatoday.com/space.
Jeff Bezos’ space tech company, Blue Origin, has New Glenn, one large rocket
Visible from Brevard County beaches, New Glenn may not look big on the launch pad but it is actually one of the largest rockets in history. At 321 feet tall,New Glenn is just a foot shorterthan NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) moon rocket, which recently launched the Artemis II mission.
Going back in history, the only other rocket that would tower over New Glenn would have been the 363-foot-tall Saturn V rocket which sent Apollo astronauts to the moon.
However, the largest rocket of all time is SpaceX’s 403-foot-tall Starship, which may launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Pad 39A in the coming year, pending the completion of the upcoming test flight out of Texas.
For context, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 stands only 230-feet-tall.
What other Cape Canaveral rocket launch may be visible in Southwest Florida?
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with five solid rocket boosters will launch another batch of 29 Amazon Leo broadband satellites on Monday, April 27, with the launch window and launch trajectory to be announced, according to FLORIDA TODAY, a USA TODAY Network newspaper.
Liftoff will be from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Live FLORIDA TODAY Space Team coverage of that mission will start 90 minutes before liftoff at floridatoday.com/space.
Photos of Florida rocket launch, SpaceX Falcon 9 and Starship seen in Lee County, Collier County sky
Weather permitting and depending on cloud cover and trajectory, a rocket launch from Florida’s Space Coast could be visible as far north as Jacksonville Beach, as far south as West Palm Beach and as far west as Fort Myers.
When there’s a launch window in the middle of the night or very early morning, there’s an opportunity for unique photos – the rocket lights up the dark sky, and the contrail after makes for a great image.
Andrew West, an award-winning visuals journalist with the News-Press and Naples Daily News, both USA TODAY Network newspapers, captured photos of a United Launch Alliance rocket leaving a streak in the Southwest Florida sky after liftoff from across the state.
► Stunning rocket launch photos! NASA SpaceX Crew-12 journeys from Kennedy Space Center in Florida to the space station
From NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to Fort Myers, Florida, it’s about 245 miles. Most rocket launches that have a late-night or early morning liftoff time are better viewing options for Southwest Florida.
Debris from SpaceX Starship rocket launch in Texas visible in Collier County, Florida, sky
In 2025, two Starship rocket launches from the Boca Chica area of Texas, renamed officially to Starbase, were visible in certain parts of Florida.
On March 6, 2025, during a Starship rocket launch test flight from Starbase, flight operators lost contact with the 165-foot upper portion of the vehicle, which exploded less than 10 minutes into the flight, creating debris visible from Florida to the Caribbean. Locally, pieces of the uncrewed Starship rocket were seen streaking across the sky from West Palm Beach to Naples.
Starbase, headquarters for SpaceX in South Texas, is more than 1,500 miles away from Naples, Florida.
Watch some rocket launches with NASA on Prime Video
Watch NASA+ content with Amazon Prime Video
NASA content, including some rocket launches and information about the Artemis II moon-circling mission, is available to watch through NASA+ on desktop, both from its official site and YouTube. The platform is also available to download as a mobile app on smartphones.
All NASA+ content is also available to those who have Prime Video downloaded on any of their devices – whether it be a smartphone or smart TV.
The content, which does not require a Prime subscription to view, is one of Prime Video’s FAST channels (free ad-supported television). Viewers can find it under Prime’s Live TV section at the top of the screen when they open the app.
Jennifer Sangalang is a lead digital producer for USA TODAY Network. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram at @byjensangalang. Support local journalism. Subscribe to the free Florida TODAY newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Can Cape Canaveral rocket launch be seen in Fort Myers, Naples? Yes. See list
Reporting by Jennifer Sangalang, Brooke Edwards, Eric Lagatta and Lianna Norman, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Fort Myers News-Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
