If you’ve ever glanced up at the L.A. night sky and wondered, “What the heck is that bright streak?” — it’s likely you caught a SpaceX launch. To help you catch this spectacular event on time, we’ve compiled a schedule of upcoming SpaceX launches from Lompoc, California — which is visible throughout most of Los Angeles County. Get ready to mark your calendars and enjoy the free show!
- Starlink Mission
- Date: June 2024 (exact date TBD)
- Location: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base (SFB), Lompoc, CA
- Transporter 11
- Date: July 8, 2024
- Location: SLC-4E, Vandenberg SFB, Lompoc, CA
- Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission (ASBM)
- Date: July 2024 (exact date TBD)
- Location: SLC-4E, Vandenberg SFB, Lompoc, CA
- Starlink Mission
- Date: July 2024 (exact date TBD)
- Location: SLC-4E, Vandenberg SFB, Lompoc, CA
For more details and updates, you can visit NextSpaceFlight.
What causes the bright streak during a SpaceX launch?
If you’re curious as to why these launches cause a bright streak in the sky, there are a number of factors.
- Rocket Exhaust — As the rocket takes off, its engines burn fuel and expel exhaust gases at high velocity. This creates a bright, glow that can be visible from the ground.
- Reflection of Sunlight — Of course this depends on the time of the launch, but the exhaust plume can reflect sunlight.
- Atmospheric Conditions — The interaction of the exhaust plume with the atmosphere can create various visual effects. For example, the plume can expand and create a broad, illuminated trail due to lower atmospheric pressure at higher altitudes.
- Stage Separation and Fairing Deployment — During a launch, the rocket goes through stages of separation and fairing deployments — which can cause brief flashes of light and/or additional streaks in the sky.
You can watch past launches on the SpaceX site here. We hope you found this SpaceX schedule helpful for your next post on the gram of the strange light in the sky. If you want to tell your friends, “It’s aliens!” — we suppose that’s okay too.