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Vandenberg Space Force Base sits on California’s Central Coast near Lompoc, in Santa Barbara County. Rockets fly south over the open Pacific from here, which makes it the place to launch into polar and sun-synchronous orbits, the paths that pass over the whole Earth.
SpaceX flies Falcon 9 from SLC-4E for Starlink, rideshare and national security missions. The base also hosts Firefly Alpha, United Launch Alliance and Northrop Grumman Minotaur launches, as well as missile tests.
Launches around sunset or before dawn can light up the sky across Southern California: the rocket climbs into sunlight while the ground is dark, and its plume spreads into a glowing cloud people call a jellyfish. It can be seen from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles and San Diego, and into Arizona. The viewing planner shows where to look from your location.
Questions About Vandenberg Launches
The next launch is at the top of this page with a live countdown, shown in your time zone.
Often, yes. On a clear night look west to northwest shortly after liftoff. Twilight launches are the most striking and can be seen across Southern California.
The rocket rises into sunlight while you are still in the dark, so the sun lights up its exhaust plume high above you.
When a Falcon 9 booster lands back at Vandenberg, people in Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Luis Obispo counties may hear a sonic boom. Each launch page says when a landing on land is planned.
Follow Vandenberg in the Space Launch Now app to get a notification before each launch and whenever the time changes.
