- SpaceX Falcon Heavy, consisting of three first Falcon 9 rocket stages, may be seen in Palm Beach County, weather permitting and cloud cover.
- From Melbourne Beach to West Palm Beach it is approximately 190 kilometers. Attending a rocket launch in Palm Beach County is a special event.
When the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket launches from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center near Cape Canaveral, will Palm Beach County residents be able to see it?
People in West Palm Beach and Greenacres may have reported seeing a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch (see video and photos below).
SpaceX’s massive Falcon Heavy rocket – more powerful than the space agency’s Falcon 9 – may take off this week. Depending on the weather, Falcon Heavy should be visible from almost anywhere on the Space Coast and in areas outside the province, possibly hundreds of miles away.
Learn more about the rocket launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center here. If there are any changes to the launch, this story will be updated.
Is there a launch today?Upcoming rocket launch schedule from SpaceX, NASA and ULA in Florida
Is there a rocket launch from Florida? Next up is Tuesday, June 25: SpaceX Falcon Heavy GOES-U
What is SpaceX Falcon Heavy?
The Falcon Heavy consists of three Falcon 9 rocket first stages – which together provide three times the lift. The middle Falcon 9 is fully loaded with the rocket’s second stage and payload on top. The payload, in this case the NOAA satellite, is encased in fairings to protect it on its way to space.
By comparison, the Falcon 9 that launches Starlink missions is a single rocket. Only one of these single rockets with the second stage is 70 meters high and has a diameter of 3.5 meters.
With three of these Falcon 9 rockets, the monster Falcon Heavy is at the same height. However, it is much wider, giving it a width of 11 meters, which is comparable to almost three cars parked bumper to bumper.
How big is Falcon Heavy? What does SpaceX Falcon Heavy look like compared to Falcon 9 rockets?
Photo galleries accompanying this story show scenes from a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket launch (morning, afternoon or night) from Florida’s Space Coast. From Melbourne Beach to West Palm Beach it is approximately 190 kilometers.
Falcon Heavy, which consists of three first Falcon 9 rocket stages, may be seen off the Space Coast, weather permitting and depending on cloud cover.
Will it rain in Cape Canaveral, Florida today? Will the weather cancel the SpaceX rocket launch?
Shown is National Weather Service-Melbourne radar, which provides real-time conditions for the Space Coast and other parts of Florida.
Can you see a rocket launch from the Kennedy Space Center or Cape Canaveral, Florida, in West Palm Beach?
Weather permitting and depending on cloud cover, some rockets launched from Cape Canaveral or from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center can be seen in Palm Beach County, Florida. Some examples include United Launch Alliance’s Delta IV Heavy rocket launch and the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. “Heavy” indicates that the rockets have three first stages, while a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket has one. Photos and video from the Palm Beach Post and shared on social media show a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch visible in West Palm Beach on some occasions.
Videos and tweets of SpaceX rocket launch near Cape Canaveral spotted in South Florida’s West Palm Beach
Photos, tweets of rocket launch seen in West Palm Beach, Florida
Sangalang is a lead digital producer for USA TODAY Network-Florida. Follow her further Tweet or Instagram at @byjensangalang. Support local journalism. Consider subscribing to a Florida newspaper.