Get your coffee, tea or favorite caffeinated drink ready! A very late-night or super early morning rocket launch is potentially scheduled − and depending on weather and visibility, parts of the Treasure Coast could see a quite a show in the sky.
SpaceX will send another batch of Starlink satellites to space via a Falcon 9 rocket for its next mission near Cape Canaveral. Keep scrolling for details.
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 picture or Instagram post.
Adam Neal, executive editor at TCPalm, a USA TODAY Network newspaper, can attest to this: Neal captured a “jellyfish effect” photo of a SpaceX rocket launch Sept. 15, 2021, for example. Neal tweeted: “Watching SpaceX all-civilian launch from Vero Beach backyard. Wow. What a show.”
Sometimes, a rocket launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, especially night launches, can be seen in parts of the Treasure Coast and beyond. TCPalm photographer Eric Hasert said he saw the same Sept. 15, 2021, SpaceX rocket launch, too, from a different locale: “I saw the launch from my car on I-95, a few minutes after I picked up my work MacBook in Palm Beach Gardens (Florida). Pretty cool!”
Below are suggestions on where to watch it from this area, a real-time weather radar to check for rainy conditions and other things to know. If there are changes to the launch schedule, this story will be updated. For questions or comments, email FLORIDA TODAY Space Reporter Rick Neale at rneale@floridatoday.com. For more space news from the USA TODAY Network, visit floridatoday.com/space.
Is there a rocket launch today?Upcoming SpaceX, NASA rocket launch schedule from Florida
Can you see a rocket launch from Kennedy Space Center or Cape Canaveral near Sebastian, Vero Beach or Stuart, Florida?
Weather permitting and depending on cloud cover, yes, rocket launches − especially night ones − from neighboring Space Coast could be visible in the Treasure Coast area, particularly from Sebastian Inlet, Vero Beach or other parts of Indian River County.
Though SpaceX has yet to announce this mission, a Federal Aviation Administration navigational warning shows a 4½-hour launch window — which indicates a Starlink mission — from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
- Mission: A SpaceX Falcon 9 will launch the next batch of Starlink internet satellites into low-Earth orbit.
- Launch window: 2:13 to 6:43 a.m. EDT Tuesday, Aug. 27
- Location: Cape Canaveral Space launch complex 40
- Trajectory: Northeast
- Live coverage: You can watch live rocket launch coverage from USA TODAY Network’s Space Team, which consists of FLORIDA TODAY space reporters Rick Neale and Brooke Edwards and visuals journalists Craig Bailey, Malcolm Denemark and Tim Shortt. Our Space Team will provide up-to-the-minute updates in a mobile-friendly live blog at floridatoday.com/space, starting 90 minutes before liftoff. You can download the free FLORIDA TODAY app, which is available in the App Store or Google Play, or type floridatoday.com/space into your browser.
Weather radar for Port St. Lucie, Florida. Will weather cancel a rocket launch?
Shown is the National Weather Service-Melbourne radar, which shows conditions in real-time for the Treasure Coast (Indian River County, Martin County and St. Lucie County) and other parts of Florida. The current date and time show up on the bottom right of this radar embed; otherwise, you may need to clear your cache.
Where to see a Florida rocket launch in Indian River County? What does Treasure Coast rocket launch view look like?
The best views to watch a rocket launch from neighboring Brevard County, aka the Space Coast, is here along the beach. Visibility in Indian River County, St. Lucie County and Martin County, part of the Treasure Coast, will depend on weather conditions, and people should make sure not to block traffic or rights of way on bridges and to follow posted rules at beaches. Look due north. Here are some recommended spots, from closest to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Kennedy Space Center to farthest:
• Pretty much anywhere in Brevard, you’ll get a view of the rocket launch. That includes Melbourne Beach, which borders Indian River County, or from Grant-Valkaria along the Indian River Lagoon.
• Sebastian Inlet Park, 9700 S. State Road A1A, Melbourne Beach (there is a cost to enter)
• Wabasso Beach Park, 1808 Wabasso Beach Road, Wabasso
• Ambersands Beach Park, 12566 N. SR A1A, Vero Beach (free parking)
• South Beach Park, 1700 Ocean Drive, Vero Beach (free parking)
• Merrill Barber Bridge in Vero Beach
• Alma Lee Loy Bridge in Vero Beach
• Fort Pierce Inlet, 905 Shorewinds Drive
• Blind Creek Beachside North and South, South Ocean Drive or SR A1A on Hutchinson Island in Fort Pierce
• Blue Heron Beach, 2101 Blue Heron Blvd., Fort Pierce
• Frederick Douglass Memorial Park, 3600 S. Ocean Drive, Fort Pierce
• Dollman Park Beachside, 9200 South Ocean Drive, Jensen Beach
• Herman’s Bay Beach, 7880 South Ocean Drive, Jensen Beach
• John Brooks Park Beachside, 3300 S Ocean Drive, Fort Pierce
• Middle Cove Beach, 4600 South Ocean Drive, Fort Pierce
• Normandy Beach in Jensen Beach
• Pepper Park Beachside, 3302 N. SR A1A, Fort Pierce,
• Walton Rocks Beach, which has a dog park, 6700 South Ocean Drive, Jensen Beach
• Waveland Beach, 10350 S. Ocean Drive, Jensen Beach
• House of Refuge and beach, 301 S.E. MacArthur Blvd., Stuart
• State Road A1A causeway in Stuart
Rocket launch photos from Vero Beach, Florida
Rocket launch photo from Stuart, Florida
Rocket launch photos from Jensen Beach, Florida
Sangalang is a lead digital producer for USA TODAY Network-Florida. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram at @byjensangalang. Support local journalism. Consider subscribing to a Florida newspaper.
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