Thanks for all the support, kind words, and for helping me stick around help you with your launch viewing journeys. LZ-1 landings are 8.3 miles away. If you stop here you may be chased away by security without warning. Cocoa Beach extends southward from Jetty Park/Cape Canaveral and gets progressively farther from all pads. Thats going to enable a great many people to make the trip who wouldnt otherwise, whether they daytrip down or get a hotel somewhere nearby like Daytona. Artemis I was a surprise for me in many ways. Barring that, the multiple public parks along US1 and the river in Brevard County are always kept open overnight for launch nights, and they continue to be a free and reliable place to enjoy a launch from. I also reccomend a good pair of binoculars. In the meantime, Im sorry that I missed a handful of inquiries, though it seemed like a lot of the form submissions were just spam. Jetty Park will likely be available, as its within their operating hours. SpaceX has a launch site at Kennedy Space Center, which is 520 miles from the nearest city. Where is the best place to view a launch? He writes about astronomy forNatural History magazine, theFarmers' Almanacand other publications. However, if you are looking for a nice beach day with a launch from farther away, or a nice photo such as a nighttime long exposure over the ocean, this is still a nice place to watch. from pad 40. Visibility map for the OFT-2 launch to the International Space Station on May 19, 2022. But it's better than nothing :). It is also the closest free or low cost (national park entrance fee) viewing site. Im dont believe public beach accesses in Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral observe the same amended rules for launches, so I cant recommend them as such. You may be able to park at one of the nearby parks and use the full deck of the bridge for viewing, not just the guarded sidewalks. Pack water, bug spray, snacks, heck maybe even pack lunch. The company was founded in 2002 to revolutionize space technology, with the ultimate goal of enabling people to live on other planets. You will only see the rocket once it has launched and cleared the trees and buildings in front of you. Watch SpaceX Starship Rocket Explode After Liftoff By Reuters April 20, 2023 Starship, the tallest and most powerful rocket ever built, cleared the launchpad before exploding during its first. You said you will be Miami so I reccomend viewing from a beach or where you have an unobstructed view north. Titusville (28.620 N, 80.800 Wfor the Rt. Bring your patience with such a large crowd. 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Cape Canaveral/Kennedy Space Center is a HUGE place, spanning approximately 17 miles north to south, and 12 miles east to west in terms of launch pads and the public viewing areas around the edges (see map above). I wasnt expecting some of the odd things I saw that evening at all. For photographers looking to get a great photo of the landing specifically, it is rather difficult to achieve a clean shot from any location, but Jetty Park is the best one. Some places, like the American Space Museum in Downtown Titusville, will be amending their hours to cater to launch tourists, and Ill try and collect information on which businesses have such plans in place in the coming days. This will change in the future as Blue Origin's big rocket resumes the use of Pad 36. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Editorializing aside, theres just the plain truth that theres only so much space here, so many hotels, so many parks, so much length of beach, so many places I could send people, and theyre all going to be full to brimming regardless of what I write here, shoulder to shoulder, cramming in. If you are south of the Cape, look low toward the north-northeast. Were just over two weeks out from Artemis I, and I finally remembered how to get into the WordPress for the site.Ive been responding to the email inquiries, I just couldnt get in to make the actual post.So, lets get down to brass tacks. It offers the best line of sight for Falcon 9 launches. To find out Joe's latest project, visit him on Twitter. When I went home to be with my dying mother last may/june, the gas station I was working for put me on family medical leave. Landings take place at Landing Zone 1, which used to be called Launch Complex 13 (. RTLS, or Return to Launch Site, is a way SpaceX will recover a booster, or in this case, boosters. SpaceX has launched astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) and returned them to Earth for NASA since 2020. This post is going to serve as addendum to the original post, so make sure youve read that. Thatll probably be out in force again, but only time will tell. A Falcon 9 will launch the Arabsat Badr 8 communications satellite from pad 40 on, The first flight of the United Launch Alliance Vulcan rocket will use the same launch pad as Atlas when it sends the Peregrine lunar lander to the moon on, The next and penultimate United Launch Alliance Delta IV-Heavy rocket will launch NROL-68 for the National Reconnaissance Office on. Sorry its a table21/August (again): Updated Star*Fleet availability (again)26/August: Observation Deck. booked online The entrance fee to Playalinda Beach is $20 per car, or is included with a National Park Service annual pass. You can watch a live webcast of every launch on your smartphone. This launch will be the third crew rotation mission to the ISS as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. These 60 satellites initially fly in a "chain" formation, but over time they spread out and move to their own orbits. Falcon 9; Falcon Heavy; Dragon . Kennedy Space Center launch viewing map SUPERCLUSTER.com. is a viewing tower that is one of the stops on the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex bus tour. Ever since I inherited it after Waywards passing, the goal has been to clean it up, make it a more useful guide, and get it to a position where I can approach local businesses and negotiate with them about placing ads on the site. If youre interested in joining us, please DM us. SpaceX designs, manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft. Click here for a twitter thread of this article! That wont be the case this weekend. If youre in downtown Titusville, the Max Brewer Bridge is also a fun place to watch a launch, assuming youre willing and able to walk up the bridge. Falcon Heavy on pad LC-39A the day before its historic debut, poised for flight. This location will not be offered for 39A launches.The Saturn V Center (28.605N, 80.669 W), a stop on the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex bus tour, offers a great view of Falcon 9 launches from Pad 39A at just 3.9 miles away, a clear 5.4 mile clear view of Atlas/Vulcan Pad 41 and a 6.3 mile clear view of Falcon Pad 40. Party on, dudes. Help us keep the site running, and do more outreach and other cool stuff: Launch Trajectories/"Can I See It From Here?". The same goes for watching from Jetty Park pier and beach. If you have to be far away, or won't know until you get here, try and target a night or twilight launch. It bolted across the S-SE-E skies in a matter of 10 to 15 seconds. This is the place for accurate information on where to watch: Falcon 9, Atlas V, Vulcan, Starship, SLS, Delta IV-Heavy, Terran, New Glenn and other rockets. The view of booster landing isnt as exceptional, from your perspective it will be near to, and possibly behind, the Vehicle Assembly Building. The next SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket will launch the ViaSat-3 Americas communications satellite from pad 39A on April 26 at 7:29 p.m. EDT. Looking for job perks? Almost everything in the Titusville area closes early, around 8-9pm. The Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex has confirmed that any viewing tickets purchased for the attempt on the 29th are still valid for Saturday, as was outlined in their scrub policy at the time of purchase. Space is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. The megaconstellation developed by the private spaceflight company SpaceX may grow to as many as 42,000 satellites in orbit, according to the science news website NASA Spaceflight. This launch has a Netflix deal. The company's current astronaut missions for NASA are Crew-6, which. Edit history:17/August: Added traffic diagrams courtesy of Tom McCool, and updated KSC viewing package availability17/August (again): Updated Star*Fleet availability18/August: Jetty Park update and inclusion of Florida Todays hotels guide18/August (again): Updated Star*Fleet availability (again)19/August: Official statement from the Canaveral National Seashore on Playalindas closure20/August: Linked to twitter version of article, minor rearranging for parity with said thread, added potential of bridge viewing.21/August: Added full-county traffic flow plan. . Why are SLS and Pad 39B or others not mentioned in the detailed section below? They can be found at 1) SpaceflightNow.com for most launches, 2) at spacex.com for Falcon launches; ulalaunch.com for Atlas, Vulcan and Delta launches, or 3) on NASA TV for launches of any rocket if it is carrying a NASA payload. Starlink Mission: SpaceX's 100th Successful Flight. Playalinda Beach will be closed, both because its far too close to 39b, and because its well outside the parks operating hours. FALCON FIRST STAGE LANDINGS AT LANDING ZONE 1, For some launches, the first stage of the Falcon rocket will return and land back at Cape Canaveral about eight minutes after liftoff. Glancing at their site, Feel The Heat ($250) and Feel The Fun ($150) are both unavailable, as packages purchased for the first two attempts are going to be honored. On occasion a new date may not appear here right away for various reasons. Space View Park is open for launch viewing, provided you can find street parking. Additionally, it may be wise to bring towels, chairs, et cetera. Another Long Island amateur, John Vogt, was out doing a 10K run when he was taken by surprise and also saw the launch. The best spot, specifically, is on top of the Max Brewer Bridge (Rt. If you do visit, please wear your mask and be courteous to those around you with social distancing. A SpaceX launch webcast typically takes between 15 and 20 minutes to complete. The way to plan ahead is to be flexible and get flexible airline tickets if you are traveling, if at all possible. Playalinda Beach (12.8 miles) and other northern areas are not recommended if viewing landing is your concern due to their distance, but you can still see them. So it is possible to have a LoS of about the entire state of Florida, probably further if you are in an open area. EDIT HISTORY:1/sept: conclusion paragraph, notes on it being labor day weekend now.1/sept (again): general updates on the parks, port canaveral, and star*fleet. It retails for $150, with all the inclusions listed. I knew Kirk Point was going to fill up early, I wasnt expecting more than 12 hours before launch early. No launch is worth it, not even this one. They do not want you parking in private parking for businesses, and those businesses can and will have you towed, as is their right. From the Saturn V Center (11 miles), landings are mostly visible but will come down behind or between buildings on the horizon. If you want to learn more details on viewing sites and the differences between the launch pads relative to them, keep reading. . The best spot, specifically, is on top of the Max Brewer Bridge (Rt. As far as Titusville goes, most of the early arrivals were concentrated around the intersection of FL-50 and US1. As mentioned, Jetty Park is the best place to watch the Falcon first stage landings, at 6.0 miles away. 402/406 outside of Playalinda or along Rt. The cone encompassed tens of degrees in the southeast sky. The main visitors center is located at the Falcon 9 SLC-40/6 launch pad. Heres how it works. Most places in Titusville close around 9pm, so if you want a bite to eat thats nicer than what youd get from one of our few 24-hour convenience stores, you might wanna bring it with you. LaunchRats After Wayward, and Inspiration4 viewing advice. NASA. Get to your location of choice EARLY. How to combine several legends in one frame? Kennedy Space Center launch viewing map. 406) which leads towards Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and Playalinda Beach. Youre gonna be shoulder to shoulder with people at some of these viewing spots. Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! What is the deal with Playalinda Beach being open or closed at random sometimes?UPDATED OCTOBER 2022: Playalinda Beach sometimes closes without warning and without any predicable scenario, and the information they provide on closures and normal operating hours contradicts itself in places. ahead of time. The SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft is lifted onto a recovery ship after splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico on Aug. 2, 2020. The following ISS sightings are possible from Friday Apr 28, 2023 through Saturday May 13, 2023. Playalinda will be closed, as will the Observation Deck downtown atop Beachwave. The beach is open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. during summer daylight-savings time, and 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. during winter standard time. A major part of that goal is redoing the map. The 20 April launch was days after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) granted SpaceX a license to launch the Starship via its Super Heavy rocket booster. At that moment,the Dragon capsule will have risen to an altitude of 653,560 feet (123.8 statute miles), while moving at16,256mph (26,161 kph) and should be visible for a radius of about 900 statute miles from the point of Second Engine Cut Off (SECO). We are the Launch Rats: the space geeks, the rocket nerds, the ones whose lives revolve around Launch Day. It also comes with limitations, as outlined in their Launch Scrub Policy. They have also made additional Main Center Viewing tickets available in a limited capacity. The second section further down this page gives more details on and more of an overview based on the viewing sites specifically. And, of course, before you head out to look for the rocket, make sure it has actually left the launch pad by watching the online broadcasts. Leave earlier than that if you can, especially if you have a specific park youd like to view from. Launch pad 40 in Pad 40 is the best . If the Earth spun clockwise, would Florida have still satisfied the requirements for the US launch center in the 1960's? This website is probably the most up-to-date place to see accurate dates. One is pad 39A (, ), formerly the home of the Space Shuttle from 1981 to 2011 and the Apollo Saturn V from 1967 to 1973. David Pierce, director of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, said during. The most notable thing is that I tried to get the email for the Twitter account changed to our team@launchrats.com address from Waywards personal, but it turns out Wayward had used it for a second account, @LaunchRatsNet, which got suspended for being inauthentic because it never did anything after being created. The closest parking at the beach (28.655N, 80.632 W) is located 3.6 miles from Falcon 9 pad 39A, 5.8 miles from Atlas V Pad 41 and 7.2 miles from Falcon 9 Pad 40. A Falcon Heavy rocket lit up the skies over the space coast Sunday evening as it launched from Kennedy Space Center, carrying a communications satellite into . But more recently, it was open for the Axiom-1 private crew mission and then the NASA Crew-5 mission in October 2022. Cool clear day and was able to see it just fine. I highly recommend taking at least the main bus tour to see, up close, this incredible and historical place. It used that entire window, launching at 3:45 PM that day. Next closest is the Saturn V Center, accessible.