Less than an hour before the Artemis II astronauts are due to land near California, SpaceX could launch a rocket about 200 miles north.
Update: This article has been updated to correct an inaccuracy and to add new information.
Hours after the Artemis II astronauts are due to splash down off the coast of San Diego, California, SpaceX could launch a rocket about 200 miles north.
A Falcon 9 rocket is due to get off the ground Friday, April 10 from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County. Its mission? Deploy SpaceX’s Starlink broadband internet satellites into low-Earth orbit.
The launch window is due to open shortly after the four Artemis II astronauts are due to return from a 10-day mission around the moon and make a water landing in the Pacific Ocean.
Interested in catching a sight of the launch? Plenty of nearby spots are popular among spectators.
Just keep in mind that postponements due to weather or issues with rockets are common with spaceflight. Check back with the VC Star for any updates on the impending launch.
In the meantime, here’s what to know about the upcoming SpaceX rocket launch from Vandenberg in Santa Barbara County, as well as where to watch it.
Is there a rocket launch today? Next mission from Vandenberg in California
SpaceX is working toward a Friday, April 10, launch from Southern California, with a four-hour launch window opening at 7:39 p.m. PT, according to a launch alert.
A Federal Aviation Administration operations plan advisory suggests a backup opportunity is available the next day if the launch were to be postponed.
Where is the next launch from California? What to know about trajectory
The launch will take place from Space Launch Complex 4-East (SLC-4E) at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County.
As has become typical in 2026, the rocket will fly at a southern trajectory.
What is launching from Vandenberg? SpaceX to deploy Starlink satellites
SpaceX will launch its famous two-stage 230-foot Falcon 9 rocket, one of the world’s most active, to deliver 25 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit, an altitude nearer Earth’s atmosphere where they’re able to circle the planet quickly.
Where to watch California rocket launches in Santa Barbara County
Because Vandenberg is an active military base, the launch complex does not host public viewings of launches.
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.
Space Launch Schedule, a website dedicated to tracking upcoming rocket launches, provided a list of places in Santa Barbara County in California to catch the launch in person:
- 13th Street and Arguello Boulevard, a public site with the closest views of SpaceX launches
- Floradale Avenue and West Ocean Avenue, officially designated as the “viewing site for SLC-6” (space launch complex-6)
- Renwick Avenue and West Ocean Avenue, another intersection close to the base where spectators can park
- Santa Lucia Canyon Road and Victory Road, provides a partial view of Complex 4.
The city of Lompoc in Santa Barbara County is filled with places to catch a rocket launch. The city’s tourism bureau, Explore Lompoc, maintains this list with additional viewing locations:
- Ocean Park, 6851 Ocean Park Road, Lompoc, which, while it doesn’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.
- Allan Hancock College, 1 Hancock Drive, Lompoc, a community college located nine miles from the launch site where the launch pad and rocket’s tip can be seen before liftoff.
- Riverbend Park, N A Street and McLaughlin Road, Lompoc, located within 10 miles of the launch site, is filled with large fields for activities or for spectators to set up chairs.
- Surf Beach on Ocean Avenue, one of the closest and most popular places to watch rocket launches near Lompoc, as long as it’s open and accessible. But a word of caution: There is an active train track, the Amtrak Surf Station, that visitors must cross. While trains don’t run during launch windows, the vehicles could start up again with little warning if a liftoff is scrubbed.
Where to watch California rocket launches in Ventura County
Visit Ventura, the tourism bureau in Ventura County, provided a list to the USA TODAY Network of suggested locations to see a rocket launch from the county:
- Ventura Pier, 750 E. Harbor Blvd, is known as the oldest pier in all of California.
- Emma Wood State Beach, located on the Santa Barbara Channel south of U.S. 101.
- Serra Cross Park at Grant Park, located just above San Buenaventura City Hall, 501 Poli St., Ventura, offers a panoramic seascape view.
- San Buenaventura State Beach, 901 San Pedro St., Ventura, located adjacent to the Ventura Pier.
- Cemetery Memorial Park, Main Street and South Crimea Street, Ventura
Where to watch California rocket launches in San Luis Obispo County
SLO CAL, a countywide destination marketing and management organization, maintains a list of its recommended best locations to watch a rocket launch in San Luis Obispo County to the north of the launch site:
- Avila Beach, located off U.S. 101, has a variety of restaurants and shops for those looking to make a day of their rocket-viewing plans.
- Pismo Beach, a city with a vibrant downtown stretch located just 38 miles away from Vandenberg
- Shell Beach, a neighborhood in Pismo Beach that is home to several parks, including Eldwayen Ocean Park and Margo Dodd Park, both on Ocean Boulevard; and Dinosaur Caves Park (2701 Price St.) that are mostly dog-friendly and open to the public
- Oceano Dunes, the closest place to view launches from the county with open spaces along the ocean allowing full visibility of the sky
- Morro Strand State Beach, a three-mile stretch between the coastal city Morro Bay and the town of Cayucos. Cayucos’ south-facing beaches should have great views of Vandenberg.
Other cities in California where rockets may be visible
Other cities in California where you might glimpse the Falcon 9 rocket soaring overhead – particularly after sunset and before sunrise – as it climbs into the sky on a southern trajectory include:
- Long Beach, a city popular with tourists known for its waterfront attractions, located about 180 south of the launch site along the southern coast of California
- Lake Forest, located about 200 miles south of the launch site along the southern coast of California
- San Diego, located about 280 miles south of the launch site along the southern coast of California
- Merced, located more than 200 miles north of Vandenberg in the San Joaquin Valley
Will there be sonic booms?
Residents of Santa Barbara County, San Luis Obispo County and Ventura County often stand to be the most likely to hear sonic booms, SpaceX said.
The sonic booms – brief, thunder-like noises that are often heard from the ground when a spacecraft or aircraft travels faster than the speed of sound – could last for up to 10 minutes after liftoff, Vandenberg has added.
“Areas local to Vandenberg Space Force Base will hear the initial low rumble of take-off,” Vandenberg has also said.
What to know about booster re-entry
Following the launch, the Falcon 9 rocket’s booster will aim to land on a SpaceX drone ship, nicknamed “Of Course I Still Love You,” in the Pacific Ocean. This allows for SpaceX personnel to recover the booster so it can be reused in future spaceflights.
Does Elon Musk own SpaceX? What to know about rocket company
SpaceX is the commercial spaceflight company that billionaire Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, founded in 2002 and leads as the CEO.
SpaceX is headquartered at Starbase in South Texas near the U.S.-Mexico border. The site, which is where SpaceX has been conducting routine flight tests of its 400-foot megarocket known as Starship, was recently voted by residents to become its own city.
As a major government contractor, SpaceX serves as the launch service provider for a variety of government missions both civil and military.
For the Department of Defense, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 helps launch classified satellites and other payloads into space. And for NASA, Falcon 9 most often helps propel astronauts to the International Space Station on SpaceX’s Dragon crew capsule – the only U.S vehicle capable of carrying NASA astronauts to orbit.
What is Starlink?
Starlink is SpaceX’s internet satellite business.
With more than 10,000 satellites in its growing orbital constellation, Starlink has become a lucrative part of Musk’s business empire, serving millions of customers around the world.
SpaceX, which bills itself as the only satellite internet provider with its own reusable rocket capable of deploying the technology, has spent years delivering the satellites to orbit with a regular cadence of rocket launches from Florida and California.
Starlink satellites operate from low-Earth orbit, about 341 miles up, which is much closer to Earth’s atmosphere than other satellites. That not only allows Starlink satellites to offer high connection speeds than satellites further out in space, but to reach rural areas and regions where internet service is not readily accessible.
What is the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California?
The Vandenberg Space Force Base is a rocket launch site in Santa Barbara County in Southern California.
Established in 1941, the site was previously known as the Vandenberg Air Force Base. Though it’s a military base, the site also hosts both civil and commercial space launches for entities like NASA and SpaceX.
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.
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@usatodayco.com