A so Florida thing is coming up this weekend. A rocket launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
SpaceX plans to launch a Falcon 9 rocket carrying a batch of Starlink internet satellites into low-Earth orbit on Sunday, March 29. Sunday was expected to be a doubleheader for Florida rocket launches, but ULA’s launch time put it in jeopardy of a weather scrub, so that launch was postponed until further notice.
Rockets here launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center near Merritt Island, Florida, or Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, but are sometimes visible from the First Coast when there is a northern trajectory.
Weather permitting and depending on cloud cover, a rocket launch from Florida’s Space Coast could be visible as far north as Jacksonville Beach, to as far south as West Palm Beach.
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 photo.
Below is more information about the next SpaceX rocket launch from Florida and suggestions on where to watch it from the Jacksonville area.
For questions or comments, email FLORIDA TODAY Space Reporters Rick Neale at rneale@floridatoday.com, Brooke Edwards at bedwards@floridatoday.com or Eric Lagatta at elagatta@usatoday.com. For more space news from the USA TODAY Network, visit floridatoday.com/space.
Is there a rocket launch from Florida today? Next launches are Sunday, March 29
SpaceX Starlink 10-44
United Launch Alliance Amazon Leo 5
Live weather radar. Will weather cancel a rocket launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida?
Shown above is the National Weather Service-Melbourne radar, which shows conditions in real-time for the Space Coast, Brevard County, Orlando, and other parts of Florida. If the current date and time don’t show up on the bottom right of this radar, you may need to clear your cache.
Where to see rocket launches from Jacksonville. Can you see rocket launches from Duval County?
Depending on trajectory, weather and cloud cover, there have been sightings of a SpaceX Falcon 9 or United Launch Alliance Delta Heavy rocket launch over the skies of Jacksonville, Florida, which is north of Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
Where to see a rocket launch in Jacksonville, Florida, area:
Watch 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 pop culture, 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 Times-Union: Florida rocket launch could be visible from Jacksonville this weekend
Reporting by Lianna Norman, Jennifer Sangalang, Rick Neale, Brooke Edwards and Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Florida Times-Union
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
