The West Coast’s second set of Starlink satellites could head to space early Saturday morning aboard a Falcon rocket after a one-day delay at Vandenberg Space Force Base.
Liftoff of the Space Exploration Technologies Falcon rocket is scheduled to occur at 4:41 a.m. from Space Launch Complex-4 on the South Base, or the area south of Ocean Avenue (Highway 246).
Late Friday afternoon, SpaceX noted a new launch time, more than three hours after they initially planned.
A mariner’s notice issued recently advised boaters to remain out of the area of SLC-4 between 1:16 a.m. and 5:33 a.m. Friday. However, early Thursday morning, the notice was revised to note the delay and new date, with the launch now sete to occur between 12:54 a.m. and 5:11 a.m.
Neither Vandenberg public affairs staff nor SpaceX representatives released the planned launch time as of Wednesday afternoon despite the fact that the rocket launches frequently startle residents uncertain whether it’s an earthquake.
Missions carrying Starlink, also developed by SpaceX, typically have an instantaneous window so that the satellites can be placed into a precise orbit.
The West Coast’s first Starlink mission saw 51 satellites head to space aboard the Falcon rocket in September. They joined a constellation with hundreds of others launched from Florida to deliver satellite-based Internet services to people across the globe.
After completing its task, the Falcon rocket’s first-stage booster will return to Earth, touching down on the “Of Course I Still Love You” droneship parked in the Pacific Ocean south of the Central Coast.
A landing at Vandenberg can be seen and heard because of sonic booms, but the droneship return most typically doesn’t create the same spectacle for Central Coast spectators since it’s too far away.
In addition to recovering the used first-stage booster, SpaceX also has started capturing the rocket’s payload fairing, or nose cone, after launch.
From the beginning, SpaceX founder Elon Musk has touted reusability as the key tool to reduce time between missions and cut costs for satellite customers.
While access to Vandenberg is restricted, the launch should be visible around the Lompoc Valley and the rest of the Central Coast as the rocket rises, assuming the marine layer cooperates. Locations around the Lompoc Valley also offer views of the launch site, which is visible when looking south of Ocean Avenue (Highway 246).
Popular viewing sites include along Ocean and Central avenues west of Lompoc, the peak of Harris Grade Road, and near the intersection of Moonglow and Stardust roads in Vandenberg Village.
It would be the third Falcon rocket launch since mid-September from Vandenberg.
In addition to the West Coast’s first Starlink mission, Falcon carried NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test satellite for planetary defense purposes. Approximately 10 months after the November liftoff, the satellite will attempt to nudge an asteroid to knock it off course to test the method for the future.
After the Falcon rocket launch from Vandenberg, SpaceX reportedly aims to conduct two other missions from Florida before the end of the year, according to SpaceflightNow.com.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.