{"id":1838,"date":"2025-06-21T08:22:09","date_gmt":"2025-06-21T08:22:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1838\/"},"modified":"2025-06-21T08:22:09","modified_gmt":"2025-06-21T08:22:09","slug":"where-to-see-falcon-9-liftoff-from-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1838\/","title":{"rendered":"Where to see Falcon 9 liftoff from California"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The commercial spaceflight company founded by billionaire Elon Musk is planning to get another Falcon 9 rocket off the ground from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;right:0;bottom:0;width:100%;height:100%;z-index:2\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/74146975007-space-x-still.jpg\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"vidplayicon\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/appservices\/universal-web\/universal\/icons\/icon-play-alt-white.svg\" alt=\"play\" style=\"height:40px;margin:auto 18px auto 27px;width:40px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>SpaceX launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base<\/p>\n<p>A SpaceX Falcon 9 launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Tuesday, June 18, 2024.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>SpaceX will conduct a dedicated rideshare flight on its famous Falcon 9 rocket to deliver dozens of small satellites for paying customers to orbit.<\/li>\n<li>If conditions are clear, rocket launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base can be viewed from several locations as far as Santa Barbara and Los Angeles.<\/li>\n<li>Residents in nearby counties may also experience sonic booms.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>SpaceX&#8217;s next mission launching from Southern California won&#8217;t be to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vcstar.com\/story\/news\/2025\/06\/16\/california-rocket-launch-spacex-vandenberg\/84188183007\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.vcstar.com\/story\/news\/2025\/06\/16\/california-rocket-launch-spacex-vandenberg\/84188183007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">deploy its own Starlink satellites<\/a>, but instead dozens of satellites for paying customers.<\/p>\n<p>The commercial spaceflight company <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vcstar.com\/story\/news\/2025\/06\/06\/trump-elon-musk-spacex-vandenberg-california\/84066777007\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.vcstar.com\/story\/news\/2025\/06\/06\/trump-elon-musk-spacex-vandenberg-california\/84066777007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">founded by billionaire Elon Musk<\/a> is planning to get another Falcon 9 rocket off the ground from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vcstar.com\/story\/news\/2025\/06\/14\/california-rocket-launch-spacex-falcon\/84115873007\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.vcstar.com\/story\/news\/2025\/06\/14\/california-rocket-launch-spacex-falcon\/84115873007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Californians have plenty of locations<\/a> where they can possibly see an afternoon rocket launch.<\/p>\n<p>But it&#8217;s important to keep in mind that rocket launches can be \u2013 and often are \u2013 scrubbed or delayed due to any number of factors, including poor weather conditions or unexpected issues with spacecraft. Check back with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vcstar.com\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.vcstar.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">VC Star<\/a> for any updates on the impending rocket launch.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;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:<\/p>\n<p class=\"related-link\"><strong style=\"margin-right:3px\">California rocket launches: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vcstar.com\/story\/news\/2025\/06\/16\/california-rocket-launch-spacex-vandenberg\/84188183007\/\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Here&#8217;s a look at the upcoming liftoff schedule from Vandenberg<\/a><\/p>\n<p>What time is the SpaceX rocket launch from California?<\/p>\n<p>A Federal Aviation Administration operations <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fly.faa.gov\/adv\/adv_spt.jsp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">plan advisory<\/a>\u00a0indicates the launch is scheduled for Saturday, June 21, with backup opportunities available Sunday, June 22.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spacelaunchschedule.com\/launch\/falcon-9-block-5-transporter-14-dedicated-sso-rideshare\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.spacelaunchschedule.com\/launch\/falcon-9-block-5-transporter-14-dedicated-sso-rideshare\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Multiple <\/a>websites dedicated to <a href=\"https:\/\/rocketlaunch.org\/mission-falcon-9-block-5-transporter-14-dedicated-sso-ride\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/rocketlaunch.org\/mission-falcon-9-block-5-transporter-14-dedicated-sso-ride\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">tracking <\/a>rocket launches suggest liftoff is being targeted for 2:19 p.m. PT Saturday, June 21.<\/p>\n<p>Neither SpaceX nor the Vandenberg Space Force Base have officially confirmed the launch.<\/p>\n<p>Where is the next launch from California?<\/p>\n<p>The launch will take place from\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vcstar.com\/story\/news\/2025\/04\/29\/vandenberg-launch-firefly-mishap-rocket-california\/83343497007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base<\/a>\u00a0in Santa Barbara County, California. Most launches from Vandenberg fly at a south or southeast trajectory.<\/p>\n<p>What is the next mission launching from Vandenberg?<\/p>\n<p>SpaceX will conduct a dedicated rideshare flight on its famous Falcon 9 rocket to deliver dozens of small satellites for paying customers to a sun-synchronous orbit,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.esa.int\/Enabling_Support\/Space_Transportation\/Types_of_orbits\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">meaning they will match Earth&#8217;s rotation<\/a>\u00a0around the sun.<\/p>\n<p>The spaceflight will make use of the company&#8217;s famous two-stage 230-foot <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spacex.com\/vehicles\/falcon-9\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.spacex.com\/vehicles\/falcon-9\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Falcon 9<\/a> rocket, one of the world&#8217;s most active, to deliver the payloads on behalf of both commercial and government entities.<\/p>\n<p>How to watch SpaceX Starlink launch livestream<\/p>\n<p>SpaceX typically provides a livestream of launches\u00a0on\u00a0its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spacex.com\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.spacex.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">website<\/a> beginning about five minutes before liftoff, along with updates on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SpaceX?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">social media site X<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Where to watch the Starlink launch in California<\/p>\n<p>Because Vandenberg is an active military base, the launch complex does not host public viewings of launches.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Space Launch Schedule, a website dedicated to tracking upcoming rocket launches,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.spacelaunchschedule.com\/category\/vandenberg-rocket-launch-viewing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">provided a list of places in California<\/a>\u00a0to catch the launch in person:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>13th Street and Arguello Boulevard<\/strong>, the public site with the closest views of SpaceX launches<\/li>\n<li><strong>Floradale Avenue and West Ocean Avenue<\/strong>, officially designated as the \u201cviewing site for SLC-6\u201d (space launch complex-6)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Renwick Avenue and West Ocean Avenue<\/strong>, another intersection close to the base where spectators can park<\/li>\n<li><strong>Santa Lucia Canyon Road and Victory Road<\/strong>, provides a partial view of Complex 4<\/li>\n<li><strong>Surf Beach on Ocean Avenue<\/strong>, the only location where the public can view the ignition and liftoff of rockets from Complex 4. \u00a0Public access is at the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/explorelompoc.com\/directory\/surf-beach\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Amtrak Surf Station parking area<\/a>, but the area is closed in the case of back-to-back launches.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The city of Lompoc in Santa Barbara County is filled with places to catch a rocket launch. The city&#8217;s tourism bureau, Explore Lompoc,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/explorelompoc.com\/best-places-to-view-a-rocket-launch-in-lompoc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">even maintains this list<\/a>\u00a0with additional viewing locations:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.countyofsb.org\/865\/Ocean-Beach-Park\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Ocean Park<\/a><\/strong>, 6851 Ocean Park Road, which, while it doesn&#8217;t have a view of the launch pad itself, is located only four miles from the launch site and provides a good vantage to see rockets get off the ground. Parking is limited, and law enforcement will close the road to the beach once parking is full.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hancockcollege.edu\/lompoc\/index.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Allan Hancock College<\/a><\/strong>, 1 Hancock Drive, a community college located nine miles from the launch site where both the launch pad and rocket&#8217;s tip can be seen before liftoff.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cityoflompoc.com\/Home\/Components\/FacilityDirectory\/FacilityDirectory\/98\/242?npage=2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Riverbend Park<\/a><\/strong>, N A Street and McLaughlin Road, located within 10 miles of the launch site, is filled with large fields for activities or for spectators to set up chairs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Will there be sonic booms?<\/p>\n<p>Residents of Santa Barbara County, San Luis Obispo County and Ventura County, California, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vandenberg.spaceforce.mil\/News\/Article-Display\/Article\/4212277\/vsfb-pioneers-research-on-ascent-sonic-booms\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.vandenberg.spaceforce.mil\/News\/Article-Display\/Article\/4212277\/vsfb-pioneers-research-on-ascent-sonic-booms\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">could hear sonic booms<\/a>, according to Vandenberg Space Force Base.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>What to know about reentry<\/p>\n<p>Following the launch, the Falcon 9 rocket&#8217;s booster will aim to land back at the launch site. This allows for SpaceX personnel to recover the booster so it can be reused in future spaceflights.<\/p>\n<p>What is SpaceX?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2025\/06\/02\/elon-musk-mars-exploration-spacex\/83991835007\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2025\/06\/02\/elon-musk-mars-exploration-spacex\/83991835007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Elon Musk<\/a>, the world&#8217;s richest man, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2025\/06\/02\/elon-musk-mars-exploration-spacex\/83991835007\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2025\/06\/02\/elon-musk-mars-exploration-spacex\/83991835007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">founded SpaceX in 2002<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The commercial spaceflight company is\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.caller.com\/story\/news\/2025\/05\/05\/elon-musk-texas-city-starbase-spacex\/83451936007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">headquartered at Starbase<\/a>\u00a0in South Texas near the U.S.-Mexico border. The site, which is where SpaceX has been conducting routine flight tests\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.caller.com\/story\/news\/2025\/05\/28\/spacex-starship-launch-flight-9-musk\/83879483007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">of its 400-foot megarocket known as Starship<\/a>, was recently voted by residents to become its own city.<\/p>\n<p>SpaceX conducts many of its own rocket launches, most using the Falcon 9 rocket, from both <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vcstar.com\/story\/news\/2025\/06\/02\/california-rocket-launch-spacex-vandenberg\/83977662007\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.vcstar.com\/story\/news\/2025\/06\/02\/california-rocket-launch-spacex-vandenberg\/83977662007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">California <\/a>and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.floridatoday.com\/story\/tech\/science\/space\/spacex\/2025\/06\/04\/spacex-first-launched-falcon-9-rocket-from-florida-cape-canaveral-15-years-ago-elon-musk\/83923532007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Florida<\/a>. That includes a regular cadence of deliveries of Starlink internet satellites into orbit, and occasional privately-funded commercial crewed missions\u00a0on the Dragon.<\/p>\n<p>The most recent of SpaceX&#8217;s private human spaceflights,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2025\/04\/04\/fram2-splashdown-california-spacex-dragon\/82864374007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">a mission known as Fram2<\/a>, took place in April. SpaceX was also famously involved in funding and operating\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2024\/09\/16\/spacex-polaris-dawn-mission-history-launch-spacewalk\/75192253007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">the headline-grabbing Polaris Dawn<\/a>\u00a0crewed commercial mission in September 2024.<\/p>\n<p>SpaceX additionally benefits from billions of dollars in contracts from NASA and the Department of Defense by providing\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2025\/03\/11\/spacex-crew-10-launch-starliner-astronauts-return\/82229350007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">launch services for classified satellites and other payloads<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>What is the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California?<\/p>\n<p>The Vandenberg Space Force Base <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vcstar.com\/story\/news\/2025\/06\/10\/california-rocket-launch-vandenberg-base\/84128076007\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.vcstar.com\/story\/news\/2025\/06\/10\/california-rocket-launch-vandenberg-base\/84128076007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">is a rocket launch site in Santa Barbara County<\/a> in Southern California.<\/p>\n<p>Established in 1941, the site was previously known as the Vandenberg Air Force Base. Though it&#8217;s a military base, the site also hosts <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vcstar.com\/story\/news\/2025\/04\/29\/vandenberg-launch-firefly-mishap-rocket-california\/83343497007\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.vcstar.com\/story\/news\/2025\/04\/29\/vandenberg-launch-firefly-mishap-rocket-california\/83343497007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">both civil and commercial space launches<\/a> for entities like NASA and SpaceX.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>This article has been updated to add new information.<\/p>\n<p>Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The commercial spaceflight company founded by billionaire Elon Musk is planning to get another Falcon 9 rocket off&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1839,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[2533,2529,931,2531,276,2552,638,2554,2542,2538,66,2535,2532,2544,2530,641,2537,425,2551,644,663,2539,942,50,2534,2545,450,950,449,1434,2547,2540,159,2541,2549,783,2550,167,2546,2553,164,2548,2527,645,158,491,448,447,456,639,661,67,132,68,2528,2543,2536,467,640],"class_list":{"0":"post-1838","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-2533","9":"tag-air","10":"tag-and","11":"tag-base","12":"tag-california","13":"tag-california-connect","14":"tag-company","15":"tag-company-news","16":"tag-connect","17":"tag-elon","18":"tag-elon-musk","19":"tag-exploration","20":"tag-falcon","21":"tag-falcon-9","22":"tag-force","23":"tag-know","24":"tag-launches","25":"tag-local","26":"tag-local-connect","27":"tag-modular","28":"tag-modular-story","29":"tag-musk","30":"tag-neutral","31":"tag-news","32":"tag-outer","33":"tag-outer-space","34":"tag-overall","35":"tag-overall-neutral","36":"tag-point","37":"tag-rocket","38":"tag-rocket-launches","39":"tag-satellites","40":"tag-science","41":"tag-southern","42":"tag-southern-california","43":"tag-space","44":"tag-space-connect","45":"tag-space-exploration","46":"tag-space-exploration-vehicles","47":"tag-space-technology","48":"tag-spacecraft","49":"tag-spacecraft-and-satellites","50":"tag-spacex","51":"tag-story","52":"tag-technology","53":"tag-technology-news","54":"tag-the","55":"tag-to","56":"tag-to-the-point","57":"tag-ttp","58":"tag-ttp-what-we-know","59":"tag-united-states","60":"tag-unitedstates","61":"tag-us","62":"tag-vandenberg","63":"tag-vandenberg-air-force-base","64":"tag-vehicles","65":"tag-we","66":"tag-what"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1838"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1838\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1839"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}