Update: The launch has been postponed 24 hours to Wednesday, July 23, the Vandenberg Space Force Base announced. No reason was given for the delay.
The next spacecraft scheduled to launch in Southern California is, once again, a Falcon 9 rocket. But this time, the SpaceX vehicle won’t be carrying a batch of Starlink satellites.
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. If you’re looking for a spot to catch the liftoff from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, we got you covered.
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 the VC Star for any updates on the impending rocket launch.
In the meantime, here’s what to know about the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base, as well as when and where to watch it:
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 and a launch alert from the Vandenberg Space Force Base.
Where is the next 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 will provide a webcast of the Starlink launch on its website beginning about 15 minutes before liftoff, along with updates on social media site X.
Where to watch the Starlink launch in California
Because Vandenberg is an active military base, the launch complex does not host public viewings of launches.
But if conditions are clear, rocket launches from the Vandenberg Space Force Base can be viewed from several locations as far as Santa Barbara and Los Angeles.
Space Launch Schedule, a website dedicated to tracking upcoming rocket launches, provided a list of places in California to catch the launch in person:
The city of Lompoc in Santa Barbara County is filled with places to catch a rocket launch. The city’s tourism bureau, Explore Lompoc, even maintains this list with additional viewing locations:
Will there be sonic booms?
Residents of Santa Barbara County, San Luis Obispo County and Ventura County, California, could hear sonic booms, according to Vandenberg Space Force Base.
Sonic booms are brief, thunder-like noises that are often heard from the ground when a spacecraft or aircraft travels faster than the speed of sound.
What to know about reentry
Following the launch, the Falcon 9 rocket’s booster will aim to to return to the launch site for a landing at LZ-4. This allows for SpaceX personnel to recover the booster so it can be reused in future spaceflights.
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.
What is the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California?
The Vandenberg Space Force Base is a rocket launch site in Santa Barbara County in Southern California.
Established in 1941, the site was previously known as the Vandenberg Air Force Base. Though it’s a military base, the site also hosts both civil and commercial space launches for entities like NASA and SpaceX.
Space Launch Delta 30, a unit of Space Force, is responsible for managing the launch operations at Vandenberg, as well as the missile tests that take place at the base.
This article has been updated to add new information.
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Is there a rocket launch today? SpaceX Falcon 9 to carry NASA twin satellites to orbit
Reporting by Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY NETWORK / Ventura County Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
