SpaceX to launch rocket from California: Where, how to see Falcon 9 in Arizona

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Another SpaceX rocket is due to launch over the weekend from Southern California, but Arizonans will most likely have to wake up pretty early to see it.
The commercial spaceflight company's Falcon 9 rocket is due to get off the ground as early as Sunday, June 8, from the Vandenberg Space Force Base. And according to SpaceX and Vandenberg, the rocket launch is targeted for early in the morning.
The two-stage 230-foot-tall rocket, one of the world's most active, has become crucial in regularly deploying batches of internet-beaming Starlink satellites into what's called low-Earth orbit — an altitude that allows for things like satellites to circle Earth fairly quickly.
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 azcentral for any updates on the impending rocket launch.
Early bird Arizona residents across a large swath of the state may be able to witness the rocket soaring overhead once it gets off the ground from the neighboring state.
Here's what to know about the launch, as well as when and where to watch it:
Is there a rocket launch today? Upcoming SpaceX, liftoff schedule from Vandenberg, California
The SpaceX launch could happen as early as Sunday, June 8, with backup opportunities available Monday, June 9, according to a Federal Aviation Administration operations plan advisory.
A four-hour launch window opens at 6:34 a.m. PT Sunday,, according to a launch alert from the Vandenberg Space Force Base.
The launch, using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to deliver 26 Starlink satellites, will take place from Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, California.
Following the delivery and deployment of the satellites, 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.
SpaceX provides a livestream of the launch on its website beginning about five minutes before liftoff, along with updates on social media site X.
Because of Arizona's proximity to the launch site, there's a good chance people there can see the spacecraft streak across the sky, especially at night or very early morning.
Here's a list of some possible viewing locations compiled by The Arizona Republic, a USA TODAY Network publication.
Dobbins Lookout, South Mountain, 10919 S. Central Ave., Phoenix, Arizona
Papago Park, 625 N. Galvin Parkway, Phoenix, Arizona
Fountain Hills, a town in Maricopa County, Arizona, which in 2018 was designated a Dark Sky Community with little light pollution
Superstition Mountains, located 40 miles from metro Phoenix in Arizona
Cave Creek, a town in Maricopa County about 30 miles north of Fountain Hills, Arizona
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, 3400 Sky Harbor Blvd., Arizona, which has a parking garage that is popular for plane-watching
Black Canyon City, an unincorporated community in Yavapai County, Arizona
Any mountain park in Arizona
, 14805 W. Vineyard Ave., Goodyear, Arizona
, 2600 N. Watson Road, Buckeye, Arizona
, 20304 W. White Tank Mountain Road, Waddell, Arizona
, 6533 W. Phillips Road, Queen Creek, Arizona
Monument Hill, a 150-foot slope on 115th Avenue, in Arizona
Elon Musk, the world's richest man, founded SpaceX in 2002.
The commercial spaceflight company 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.
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 missions on 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 operating the headline-grabbing Polaris Dawn crewed commercial mission in September 2024.
SpaceX also benefits from billions of dollars in contracts from NASA and the Department of Defense by providing launch services for classified satellites and other payloads.
Owned by SpaceX founder Elon Musk, Starlink is a constellation of more than 6,700 satellites that provide internet service to customers around the world.
SpaceX, a commercial spaceflight company, has spent more than six years delivering the satellites to orbit with a regular cadence of rocket launches from 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.
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at [e-mail]
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: SpaceX rocket launch: Where to see California liftoff in Arizona