A SpaceX rocket will soar above the southern California coast on Wednesday after launching from Vandenberg Space Force Base.
The Falcon 9 rocket should take off at 6:40 a.m. California time from the base northwest of Santa Barbara. The rocket will carry 46 Starlink internet satellites into low Earth orbit.
Targeting Tuesday, April 25 at 6:40 a.m. PT for a Falcon 9 launch of 46 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from SLC-4E in California → https://t.co/bJFjLCiTbK
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 24, 2023
The launches closest to sunrise and sunset offer a spectacular sight with dark skies in the background and a rocket lit by the sun. Sunrise on Wednesday is scheduled for 6:09 a.m., so the sky will already be clear.
After separation, the first stage booster will land on the Of Course I Still Love You drone stationed in the Pacific Ocean.
SpaceX has a Starlink constellation of satellites orbiting Earth about 340 miles high, carried into space by the Hawthorne-based company’s rockets. The Starlink network is designed to deliver high-speed Internet anywhere in the world.
If the lighting conditions are perfect, the satellites appear in a train as they pass through the night sky. Satellites are sometimes visible in the first few minutes after sunset and before sunrise when the sun is below the horizon, but the satellites are high enough to reflect direct sunlight.
Use the FindStarlink tracker to find the best viewing times for upcoming events.
The launch comes nearly a week after SpaceX’s giant Starship rocket lifted off on its first test flight from the southern tip of Texas. The plan was to send the spacecraft around the world, but the rocket started spinning and then exploded four minutes into the flight.