The Falcon 9 is by far the most frequently launched, averaging 2 per month.įlight Club prediction for viewing a Starlink launch from the FDR State Park Office. Currently being launched from Cape Canaveral are, from left to right, the Falcon 9 and Falcon 9 Heavy from SpaceX and the Atlas V and Delta IV Heavy from United Launch Alliance. What You Can Seeīefore I describe the show let me briefly introduce the performers. I recommend arriving at Dowdell’s Knob well before the scheduled liftoff time, that way if the gate is closed you have time to move to another location. However, there is one downside – the gate at the beginning of the access road may be closed and locked during hours of darkness. From here you will be able to see the entry burn for a drone ship landing along with visibility of the second stage all the way to the horizon. Said to be one of President Franklin D Roosevelt’s favorite spots, this is the best view of any location in Harris County. If you go looking for the city lights in the commercial you won’t find them, they are CGI.ĭowdell’s Knob (32° 50′ 23.3″ N, 84° 44′ 42″ W) The tree in the commercial can be seen on the left side of the view below. This spot is somewhat famous because it was used as a filming location for a KIA Telluride commercial that aired during the 2019 Super Bowl (seen here at the 20 second mark). This is another location that offers a limited view. I would only use this location as a last resort since it offers a very limited view of a launch. Overlook #2 (32° 50′ 29.1″ N, 84° 48′ 08.2″ W)Ĭontinuing east on Hwy 190, this is the second southern facing overlook. Historical note: The office was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1938 and originally served as an inn and restaurant. This is the first southern facing overlook you encounter when traveling east on Hwy 190 from the Callaway Gardens Country Store.įDR State Park Office (32° 50′ 13.6″ N, 84° 48′ 58.7″ W)Īnywhere along the fence line behind the office will provide a good view but only the southern tip of the amphitheater will allow you to see the entry burn as well. The west end of the fence line provides the best view. The only locations where this is visible in FDR State Park are the Park Office and Dowdell’s Knob.Ĭallaway Gardens Country Store (32° 48′ 36.9″ N, 84° 51′ 22″ W)Īcross from the store is an overlook of the Pine Mountain valley. Typically this is on a compass heading of 90° to 100°. Stage separation for Atlas and Delta rockets will occur higher above the horizon.Ĭ is where the booster entry burn occurs for a drone ship landing. Typically this is on a compass heading of 135° to 137°.ī is where stage separation occurs. Other missions and rocket types will appear on the horizon close to A as well. EST.Each location below shows the sight lines to prominent launch events using the most common launch from Cape Canaveral, a SpaceX Falcon 9 Starlink mission.Ī is where the rocket will appear on the horizon and where the booster entry burn will occur for missions that return to Cape Canaveral. They successfully launched from Texas at 9:58 a.m. The Pineapples restaurateur joined five other companions, including the first people from Egypt and Portugal to fly to space, in the nearly 11-minute journey, even bringing a Surfing Santas of Cocoa Beach plush toy in tow to represent his Florida roots.

But I’m going to be happy to represent (the Space Coast),” Young said in an interview with News 6 partner Florida Today. “I’m like the blue-collar boy from Melbourne that’s not as interesting as the rest. Then, while Blue Origin’s suborbital rocket-capsule NS-22 launched from Van Horn, Texas, it still carried ties to the Space Coast - Melbourne restaurant owner Steve Young was part of the crew.

Check out our gallery to see the amazing sunrise launch photos taken by News 6 photographer James Gosselin. But the weather turned out to be perfect for the launch. SBIRS GEO 6 is a missile detection and early warning satellite that was built to detect ballistic missile threats around the world.įorecasters with Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron said the weather was 79% favorable for the launch, the primary concern being cumulus clouds. The rocket carried the final Space Based Infrared System Geosynchronous Earth Orbit spacecraft for the U.S.

Rocket launch cape canaveral today