Update: SpaceX is now targeting a 10:18 a.m. PT Thursday, Nov. 20 liftoff.
After a slow start to November, SpaceX is due to launch another Falcon 9 rocket just three days after its last mission from Southern California.
The upcoming spaceflight from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County would be just the third of the month from the West Coast. And for the second time in a row, it won’t be a Starlink mission from SpaceX.
Notably, SpaceX has not deployed a batch of the company’s Starlink internet satellites since Nov. 6.
Instead, on Nov. 16, a Falcon 9 got off the ground to deploy NASA-designed Sentinel-6B satellites to track rising sea levels. Now, SpaceX is planning the latest in a series of rideshare missions for paying customers, known as Transporter-15.
The upcoming launch will be the first since the Federal Aviation Administration rescinded a short-lived order restricting the hours of commercial launches to ease the strain of the now-ended government shutdown.
Want to watch the liftoff? Keep in mind that postponements due to weather or issues with rockets are common with spaceflight. Check back with the VC Star for any updates on the impending launch.
In the meantime, here’s what to know about the upcoming SpaceX rocket launch from Vandenberg, as well as some suggested locations where you might be able to watch it.
Is there a rocket launch today? Next mission from Vandenberg
SpaceX is working toward a Wednesday, Nov. 19, launch of its Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base. The brief launch window lasts from 10:18 to 11:15 a.m. PT, according to SpaceX.
A Federal Aviation Administration operations plan advisory suggests a backup opportunity is available the next day if the launch were to be postponed.
Where is the next launch from California? What to know about trajectory
The launch will take place from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County.
The rocket is due to fly at a southern trajectory.
What is the next mission? SpaceX to launch Transporter-15
SpaceX will launch its famous two-stage 230-foot Falcon 9 rocket, one of the world’s most active, on a rideshare mission known as Transporter-15.
The payloads, including small satellites for paying customers, are due to be deployed into a sun-synchronous orbit, meaning they match Earth’s rotation around the sun. The mission comes after SpaceX launched Transporter-14 at the end of June, which carried 70 total payloads to orbit, including the remains of 166 individuals for a memorial spaceflight.
Where to watch rocket launches in Santa Barbara County
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 Santa Barbara County 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, maintains this list with additional viewing locations:
Where to watch launches from Vandenberg in Ventura County
Visit Ventura, the tourism bureau in Ventura County, provided a list to the USA TODAY Network of suggested locations to see a rocket launch from the county:
Where to watch California rocket launches in San Luis Obispo County
SLO CAL, a countywide destination marketing and management organization, maintains a list of its recommended best locations to watch a rocket launch in San Luis Obispo County to the north of the launch site:
Other cities in California where rockets may be visible
Other cities in California where you might glimpse the Falcon 9 rocket soaring overhead – particularly after sunset and before sunrise – as it climbs into the sky on a southern trajectory include:
Will there be sonic booms?
Residents of Santa Barbara County, San Luis Obispo County and Ventura County often stand to be the most likely to hear sonic booms, SpaceX has said
“Areas local to Vandenberg Space Force Base will hear the initial low rumble of take-off,” Vandenberg has also said before.
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 re-entry
Following the launch, 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.
What is SpaceX?
Billionaire 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 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 only U.S vehicle capable of carrying astronauts to the International Space Station.
The most recent of SpaceX’s private human spaceflights, a mission known as Fram2, took place in April 2025. 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.
Contributing: Jennifer Sangalang, USA TODAY Network; Paris Barraza, Palm Springs Desert Sun
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: SpaceX targets morning launch at Vandenberg. Where to see rocket in California
Reporting by Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY NETWORK / Ventura County Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
