Next: USSF-432, Fri, Nov 6, 4:46 pm PST.
A Falcon 9 Block 5 from Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg SFB. Daytime launch (Sun 3° up at the pad): you see the rocket and its trail only from nearby.
Daylight Daytime launch (Sun 3° up at the pad): you see the rocket and its trail only from nearby.
Source updated 4 Nov 2026, 00:46 UTC
Night Night launch (Sun 25° below the horizon): the engine flame is visible as a bright moving light from far away.
Source updated 4 Nov 2026, 20:05 UTC
Night Night launch (Sun 42° below the horizon): the engine flame is visible as a bright moving light from far away.
Source updated 4 Nov 2026, 20:05 UTC
A rocket is above your horizon once it climbs higher than the height in the chart, which grows with your distance from the pads. Rockets heading to orbit pass 100 km within the first few minutes of flight, so from most cities below the rocket is high enough to see on a clear night, low over the horizon toward the pads. Trees, buildings and haze near the horizon block the lowest views.
| City | Distance to the pads | Look toward | Rocket must be higher than |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles CA | 227 km (141 mi) | west-northwest | 4 km |
| Phoenix AZ | 797 km (495 mi) | west-northwest | 50 km |
| San Diego CA | 384 km (238 mi) | northwest | 12 km |
| San Jose CA | 322 km (200 mi) | south-southeast | 8 km |
| San Francisco CA | 385 km (239 mi) | south-southeast | 12 km |
| Las Vegas NV | 525 km (326 mi) | west-southwest | 22 km |
| Fresno CA | 247 km (154 mi) | south-southwest | 5 km |
| Sacramento CA | 446 km (277 mi) | south | 16 km |
| Long Beach CA | 243 km (151 mi) | west-northwest | 5 km |
| Mesa AZ | 821 km (510 mi) | west-northwest | 53 km |
| Oakland CA | 383 km (238 mi) | south-southeast | 12 km |
| Bakersfield CA | 167 km (104 mi) | west-southwest | 2 km |
| Anaheim CA | 263 km (164 mi) | west-northwest | 5 km |
| Riverside CA | 305 km (189 mi) | west-northwest | 7 km |
Distance from the city centre to Vandenberg Space Force Base (34.63°, -120.61°); geometric horizon on a sphere of 6,371 km, for a rocket straight above the pads. Real rockets fly downrange, which can bring them higher in some directions and lower in others.
| When | Mission and rocket | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Fri, Oct 30, 9:04 pm PDT | Starlink Group 15-18 Falcon 9 Block 5 · Vandenberg SFB | Launch Successful |
| Tue, Oct 27, 12:25 am PDT | Starlink Group 15-16 Falcon 9 Block 5 · Vandenberg SFB | Launch Successful |
| Fri, Oct 23, 3:48 pm PDT | Starlink Group 15-15 Falcon 9 Block 5 · Vandenberg SFB | Launch Successful |
| Thu, Oct 15, 5:01 pm PDT | USSF-481 Falcon 9 Block 5 · Vandenberg SFB | Launch Successful |
| Mon, Oct 12, 5:28 pm PDT | Starlink Group 15-25 Falcon 9 Block 5 · Vandenberg SFB | Launch Successful |
| Sat, Oct 10, 12:39 am PDT | SDA Tranche 1 Transport Layer A Falcon 9 Block 5 · Vandenberg SFB | Launch Successful |
| Thu, Oct 1, 11:32 am PDT | Transporter 18 (Dedicated SSO Rideshare) Falcon 9 Block 5 · Vandenberg SFB | Launch Successful |
| Sat, Sep 26, 7:00 am PDT | USSF-385 Falcon 9 Block 5 · Vandenberg SFB | Launch Successful |
| Sat, Sep 19, 6:47 pm PDT | Starlink Group 15-27 Falcon 9 Block 5 · Vandenberg SFB | Launch Successful |
| Wed, Sep 16, 6:07 pm PDT | USSF-259 Falcon 9 Block 5 · Vandenberg SFB | Launch Successful |
| Thu, Sep 10, 8:42 am PDT | USSF-153 Falcon 9 Block 5 · Vandenberg SFB | Launch Successful |
| Sun, Sep 6, 7:26 am PDT | Starlink Group 15-24 Falcon 9 Block 5 · Vandenberg SFB | Launch Successful |
| Wed, Sep 2, 1:42 am PDT | Starlink Group 15-23 Falcon 9 Block 5 · Vandenberg SFB | Launch Successful |
| Wed, Aug 26, 2:35 am PDT | Starlink Group 15-22 Falcon 9 Block 5 · Vandenberg SFB | Launch Successful |
| Sat, Aug 22, 12:25 am PDT | Starlink Group 15-20 Falcon 9 Block 5 · Vandenberg SFB | Launch Successful |
| Expected | Mission and rocket | Launch site |
|---|---|---|
| November 2026 (no firm date) | NROL-195 Falcon 9 Block 5 | Vandenberg SFB |
| November 2026 (no firm date) | OneWeb 21 Falcon 9 Block 5 | Vandenberg SFB |
| November 2026 (no firm date) | Starlink Group 15-21 Falcon 9 Block 5 | Vandenberg SFB |
| 2026 (no firm date) | Rivada 7 Falcon 9 Block 5 | Vandenberg SFB |
| 2026 (no firm date) | Rivada 2 Falcon 9 Block 5 | Vandenberg SFB |
| 2026 (no firm date) | Rivada 11 Falcon 9 Block 5 | Vandenberg SFB |
| Q4 2026 | SDA Tranche 1 Transport Layer F Falcon 9 Block 5 | Vandenberg SFB |
| Q4 2026 | ConnectedCosmos Launch 1 Firefly Alpha Block 2 | Vandenberg SFB |
| Q4 2026 | SDA Tranche 1 Tracking Layer D Falcon 9 Block 5 | Vandenberg SFB |
| 2026 (no firm date) | SDA Tranche 1 Tracking Layer E Vulcan | Vandenberg SFB |
| 2026 (no firm date) | Rivada 12 Falcon 9 Block 5 | Vandenberg SFB |
| 2026 (no firm date) | SDA Tranche 2 Transport Layer A Falcon 9 Block 5 | Vandenberg SFB |
| 2026 (no firm date) | SDA Tranche 1 Tracking Layer B Vulcan | Vandenberg SFB |
| 2026 (no firm date) | Rivada 1 Falcon 9 Block 5 | Vandenberg SFB |
| Q4 2026 | ConnectedCosmos Launch 2 Firefly Alpha Block 2 | Vandenberg SFB |
| 2026 (no firm date) | Rivada 9 Falcon 9 Block 5 | Vandenberg SFB |
| 2026 (no firm date) | Rivada 3 Falcon 9 Block 5 | Vandenberg SFB |
| 2026 (no firm date) | Rivada 5 Falcon 9 Block 5 | Vandenberg SFB |
| 2026 (no firm date) | TacSat Firefly Alpha Block 2 | Vandenberg SFB |
| 2026 (no firm date) | NROL-83 Vulcan | Vandenberg SFB |
| Q4 2026 | SDA Tranche 1 Tracking Layer C Falcon 9 Block 5 | Vandenberg SFB |
| 2026 (no firm date) | Rivada 8 Falcon 9 Block 5 | Vandenberg SFB |
| Q4 2026 | SDA Tranche 1 Tracking Layer A Falcon 9 Block 5 | Vandenberg SFB |
| Q4 2026 | SDA Tranche 1 Transport Layer D Falcon 9 Block 5 | Vandenberg SFB |
| 2026 (no firm date) | Rivada 10 Falcon 9 Block 5 | Vandenberg SFB |
| 2026 (no firm date) | NROL-73 Vulcan | Vandenberg SFB |
| December 2026 (no firm date) | SDA Tranche 2 Transport Layer E Falcon 9 Block 5 | Vandenberg SFB |
| 2026 (no firm date) | NROL-100 Vulcan | Vandenberg SFB |
| 2026 (no firm date) | SDA Tranche 2 Transport Layer B Vulcan | Vandenberg SFB |
| 2026 (no firm date) | Rivada 6 Falcon 9 Block 5 | Vandenberg SFB |
| 2026 (no firm date) | Rivada 4 Falcon 9 Block 5 | Vandenberg SFB |
| 2026 (no firm date) | USSF-114 Vulcan | Vandenberg SFB |
At the last update (5 Nov 2026, 00:20 UTC), the next California launch was USSF-432 (Falcon 9 Block 5), Fri, Nov 6, 4:46 pm PST, status: Go for Launch.
Yes, on a clear night: Los Angeles is 227 km from the pads, so the rocket is above your horizon once it is about 4 km up. Look toward the west-northwest.
Geometry allows a lot: Medford, 878 km away, has the rocket above its horizon once it is about 61 km up. In practice night and twilight launches are seen from several hundred kilometres away; daytime launches mostly from within about 100 km.
When the Sun has set at the pad but is less than 18° below the horizon, the rocket's exhaust high up can still be in sunlight while the ground is dark. That is when the glowing, spreading plume is seen from far away.
Schedule: Launch Library 2 by The Space Devs, fetched 5 Nov 2026, 00:20 UTC (); this page is rebuilt every 6 hours. Launch times move often, sometimes minutes before liftoff: check the launch provider's own channels on the day. Sky at liftoff and distances are computed by us.