Florida’s Space Coast hosted a record-shattering 109 orbital rocket launches during 2025, soaring beyond all previous annual records. And as of Monday, April 27, there have already been 29 Florida rocket launches in 2026.
April kicked off with the historic launch of NASA’s Artemis II lunar mission from the Kennedy Space Center, carrying four astronauts farther than any human has been in space for a flyby around the moon. The April 1 Artemis II launch was visible far beyond the Space Coast.
Originally, back-to-back rocket launches from Florida were scheduled to kick off the week on April 27. This morning, SpaceX was planning to launch its Falcon Heavy rocket, which is much more powerful than the Falcon 9 and is rarely used. But the launch was scrubbed due to poor weather over the Kennedy Space Center.
Tonight, a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with five solid rocket boosters will launch the next batch of 29 Amazon Leo broadband satellites. There is also a SpaceX Starlink launch scheduled for Friday, May 1.
Depending on the weather, cloud cover and trajectory, a rocket launch from Florida’s Space Coast is sometimes visible as far north as Jacksonville Beach and as far south as West Palm Beach. In some cases, rockets that launched from Florida were spotted in other states.
Here’s the rocket launch schedule for the week of April 27, where rocket launches are visible in Florida and how to watch rocket launches and other NASA content with Amazon Prime Video.
Is there a rocket launch today? Florida rocket launches scheduled for this week
Listed below are the scheduled Florida rocket launches coming up for the week of April 27. Please note that this article may be updated frequently because launch dates and times routinely change for a wide variety of reasons.
SpaceX ViaSat-3 F3, Scrubbed
Monday, April 27, United Launch Alliance Amazon Leo 6
Friday, May 1, SpaceX Starlink 10-38
Where does SpaceX launch from in Florida?
Rockets in Florida launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center near Merritt Island, or Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, and people in and around Brevard County usually have the best chance at seeing a rocket light up the sky.
Where can I watch a rocket launch in Florida?
A rocket launch with a Northeast trajectory can be visible as far north as Jacksonville Beach, Florida, which is about 160 miles north of Cape Canaveral (about a two-hour and 30-minute car ride, depending on which route you take).
Rocket launches with a Southeast trajectory can be seen as far south as West Palm Beach, Florida, which is about 150 miles south of Cape Canaveral (about a two-hour-and-20-minute car ride).
Rocket launches are most visible from the Space Coast, where they launch from, and are often visible from the Treasure Coast and Volusia County as well.
Watch some rocket launches with NASA+ on Prime Video
Watch NASA+ content with Amazon Prime Video
NASA content, including some rocket launches, 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.
Lianna Norman and Jennifer Sangalang are trending reporters for the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida, covering rocket launches, Florida wildlife, breaking news and more. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, at https://floridatoday.com/newsletters.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Is there a rocket launch today? Florida’s SpaceX, ULA launch schedule
Reporting by Lianna Norman, Jennifer Sangalang, Rick Neale, Brooke Edwards and Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Florida Today
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
