The SpaceX rocket is scheduled to lift off from the Santa Barbara County coast on Friday evening.
The launch is scheduled for 8:14 p.m. from Vandenberg Space Center, California. The rocket will fly south down the coast carrying a payload for the National Reconnaissance Office, which builds and operates the U.S. spy satellite constellation.
The first stage rocket booster is scheduled to land on an unmanned ship at sea.
The rocket may be visible from around Los Angeles, but it’s unlikely to be as dramatic as past launches against dark skies unless it’s delayed within the two-hour launch window. The sun is scheduled to set down in Los Angeles at 8:08 p.m. Friday, just a few minutes before the launch window begins.
If the sky is clear and dark enough, the rocket and its exhaust can be seen for hundreds of miles as it rises along the coast. Launches after sunset or before sunrise usually offer the best views, as the rocket reflects the sunlight against a dark sky.
Suzanne Strauss A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket photographed in Orange County. Jim Parker A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket seen from Agoura Hills. Harold Shaffer A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket flying across Toluca Lake. Patty Wunderlich
Hawthorne-based SpaceX will launch 96 successful missions aboard its Falcon rockets in 2023, surpassing the previous annual record of 61 orbital launches set in 2022.