Is there a rocket launch today? SpaceX to resume Starlink missions from Vandenberg

After about a two-week break in action, rocket launches are scheduled to resume in the days ahead from Southern California.

SpaceX is potentially planning to launch at least three batches of internet-beaming Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit in the week ahead, beginning with a mission as early as Sunday, July 13. The slate of upcoming rocket launches would be the first in about two weeks following routine maintenance at the launch complex where SpaceX missions get off the ground from the Vandenberg Space Force Base.

Billionaire Elon Musk's commercial spaceflight company last launched its Falcon 9 rocket June 28 from Vandenberg on a Starlink-deployment spaceflight.

Been missing the sights and sounds of the spacecraft soaring through the sky? Well, now that operations are about to resume at Vandenberg, Californians will once again have plenty of opportunities to witness a rocket launch.

But it's important to keep in mind that rocket launches can be – and often are – scrubbed or delayed due to any number of factors, including poor weather conditions or unexpected issues with spacecraft. Check back with the VC Star for any updates on the impending rocket launch.

Here's what to know about the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base, as well as when and where to watch it:

California rocket launches: Why SpaceX launches have been paused in California

What time is the SpaceX rocket launch from California?

The launch appears to be on track for Monday, July 14, according to a Federal Aviation Administration operations plan advisory. Backup opportunities are also available on Tuesday, July 15.

However, multiple websites that track rocket launches suggest the launch window could instead open at 7:27 p.m. PT Sunday, July 13.

Neither the Vandenberg Space Force Base nor SpaceX have officially confirmed the launch yet.

Where is the next launch from California?

The launch will take place fromLaunch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Basein Santa Barbara County. Most launches from Vandenberg fly at a south or southeast trajectory.

What is the next mission launching from Vandenberg?

The spaceflight will make use of the company's famous two-stage 230-foot Falcon 9 rocket, one of the world's most active, to deliver Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit.

The altitude is low enough to allow for things like satellites to circle Earth fairly quickly.

How to watch SpaceX Starlink launch livestream

SpaceX always provides livestreams of California Starlink launches onits website beginning about five minutes before liftoff, along with updates onsocial media site X.

Where to watch the Starlink launch in California

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 Californiato catch the launch in person:

13th Street and Arguello Boulevard, the 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

Surf Beach on Ocean Avenue, the only location where the public can view the ignition and liftoff of rockets from Complex 4. Public access is at theAmtrak Surf Station parking area, but the area is closed in the case of back-to-back launches.

The city of Lompoc in Santa Barbara County is filled with places to catch a rocket launch. The city's tourism bureau, Explore Lompoc,even maintains this listwith additional viewing locations:

Ocean Park, 6851 Ocean Park Road, 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, a community college located nine miles from the launch site where both the launch pad and rocket's tip can be seen before liftoff.

Riverbend Park, N A Street and McLaughlin Road, located within 10 miles of the launch site, is filled with large fields for activities or for spectators to set up chairs.

Will there be sonic booms?

Residents of Santa Barbara County, San Luis Obispo County and Ventura County, California, could hear sonic booms, according to Vandenberg Space Force Base.

Sonic booms are brief, thunder-like noises that are often heard from the ground when a spacecraft or aircraft travels faster than the speed of sound.

What to know about reentry

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.

What is SpaceX?

Elon Musk, the world's richest man, founded SpaceX in 2002.

The commercial spaceflight company isheadquartered at Starbasein South Texas near the U.S.-Mexico border. The site, which is where SpaceX has been conducting routine flight testsof its 400-foot megarocket known as Starship, was recently voted by residents to become its own city.

SpaceX conducts many of its own rocket launches, most using the Falcon 9 rocket, from both California and Florida. That includes a regular cadence of deliveries of Starlink internet satellites into orbit, and occasional privately-funded commercial crewed missionson the Dragon.

The most recent of SpaceX's private human spaceflights,a mission known as Fram2, took place in April. SpaceX was also famously involved in funding and operatingthe headline-grabbing Polaris Dawncrewed commercial mission in September 2024.

SpaceX additionally benefits from billions of dollars in contracts from NASA and the Department of Defense by providinglaunch services for classified satellites and other payloads.

What is Starlink?

Owned by SpaceX founder Elon Musk,Starlink is aconstellation of more than7,000 satellites that provide internet service to customers around the world. SpaceX has spent more than six years delivering the satellites to orbitwith a regular cadence of rocket launchesfrom both Florida and California.

While most satellite internet services operate from single geostationary satellites orbiting Earth at about 22,236 miles, Starlink is a constellation of thousands of satellites that operate from a low-Earth orbit, about 341 miles up. That allows Starlink's satellites to have lower latency and data time between user and the satellite, improving performance of things like streaming, online gaming and video calls.

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 [email protected]

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: California rocket launches: Where to see 1st SpaceX liftoff in 2 weeks