A SpaceX rocket launch Tuesday night from the Santa Barbara County coast will send 24 Starlink internet satellites into orbit before another launch this weekend.
The Falcon 9 launch from of Vandenberg Space Force Base is scheduled for a window that opens at 8:51 p.m. Launch times are subject to change, depending on factors like weather conditions.
After separation, the first stage booster landed on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship in the Pacific. People in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura counties may hear one or more sonic booms.
The rocket and its exhaust plume are sometimes visible for hundreds of miles as it soars along the coast, if skies are clear and light conditions are right. Launches just after sunset and before sunrise usually provide the best views as the rocket reflects the sun's rays against the backdrop of a darkened sky.
Sunset is set for 7:17 p.m. Tuesday in Los Angeles.
SpaceX's next launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base, also a Starlink mission, is set for midday Saturday.
SpaceX has a Starlink constellation of satellites orbiting Earth about 340 miles up, shuttled into space by the company's rockets. The Starlink network is designed to deliver high-speed internet anywhere around the globe.
If light conditions are right, the satellites appear in a train as they parade across the night sky. The satellites are sometimes visible in the first few minutes after sundown and before sunrise when the sun is below the horizon, but the satellites are high enough to reflect direct sunlight.