[blueash]

A launch window from 11:30 PM tonight, Monday 24th, until 3:30 AM Tuesday for the SpaceX Falcon Heavy lift off and booster recovery should be a visual treat. Clear skies are expected. Look slightly south of due east and you will see the flame of 3 boosters joined together producing the most powerful launch vehicle on earth.
You can watch online HERE to see if the mission lifts off on schedule. You will see the rocket's red flare a few seconds after lift off as it needs some elevation before we can see it over our horizon.


Keep watching and you may be able to see side engine cut off at 2:27 after liftoff and the side boosters separation. The two side boosters are to be brought back to Canaveral and you will see them reignite as the engines slow the fall back to earth. There are two burns, one 2:49 secs after liftoff. The center engine remains burning until 3:27 when it shuts down and the second stage ignites ten seconds later. The two side boosters have an intense landing burn beginning at 7:13 after takeoff to bring them to a safe landing side by side. The center booster will be invisible as it is to be recovered nearly 800 miles out in the Atlantic on the drone ship "Of Course I Still Love You". This compares to a usual location much much closer to the Florida coastline.
Details on the exact time of each event can be seen HERE


Go outside and watch this. You need a clear view to the east. Binoculars are not particularly useful. This is all naked eye amazement. The SpaceX website will keep you up to date on each event with live streaming beginning about 20 minutes before the launch window opens [11:10 PM]

[Aces4]

Originally Posted by blueash

A launch window from 11:30 PM tonight, Monday 24th, until 3:30 AM Tuesday for the SpaceX Falcon Heavy lift off and booster recovery should be a visual treat. Clear skies are expected. Look slightly south of due east and you will see the flame of 3 boosters joined together producing the most powerful launch vehicle on earth.
You can watch online HERE to see if the mission lifts off on schedule. You will see the rocket's red flare a few seconds after lift off as it needs some elevation before we can see it over our horizon.


Keep watching and you may be able to see side engine cut off at 2:27 after liftoff and the side boosters separation. The two side boosters are to be brought back to Canaveral and you will see them reignite as the engines slow the fall back to earth. There are two burns, one 2:49 secs after liftoff. The center engine remains burning until 3:27 when it shuts down and the second stage ignites ten seconds later. The two side boosters have an intense landing burn beginning at 7:13 after takeoff to bring them to a safe landing side by side. The center booster will be invisible as it is to be recovered nearly 800 miles out in the Atlantic on the drone ship "Of Course I Still Love You". This compares to a usual location much much closer to the Florida coastline.
Details on the exact time of each event can be seen HERE


Go outside and watch this. You need a clear view to the east. Binoculars are not particularly useful. This is all naked eye amazement. The SpaceX website will keep you up to date on each event with live streaming beginning about 20 minutes before the launch window opens [11:10 PM]

Nice synopsis of the launch, Blueash. Thank you for this.

[Buffalo Jim]

Thanks for posting and the great detail !

[starflyte1]

Thank you for posting this before it happens, instead of the next day, after it happens.

[DeanFL]

Launch delay (as of now) - to 2:30 AM (early Tues morn...)
They lost me to catch it live in the sky...zzzzzzzzz

SpaceX Adjusts Launch Time for First Falcon Heavy Night Flight
By Meghan Bartels 36 minutes ago Spaceflight

The new launch time is 2:30 a.m. EDT (0630 GMT) on June 25.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX is waiting until late in its 4-hour window to fire the engines on the massive Falcon Heavy rocket currently sitting on a launch pad here at Kennedy Space Center.

The company announced on Twitter that it would be targeting 2:30 a.m. EDT (0630 GMT) on June 25, three hours into the launch window for the mission. The statement didn't offer any details about why the decision was made. The mission will launch two dozen satellites into orbit, including payloads for NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), The Planetary Society and a host of universities.

[Marathon Man]

It was spectacular. Perfectly clear skys. It crossed in front of the moon going up. Booster seperation was amazing to see. And finally the two side boosters burning for recovery.

[BobnBev]

Originally Posted by Marathon Man

It was spectacular. Perfectly clear skys. It crossed in front of the moon going up. Booster seperation was amazing to see. And finally the two side boosters burning for recovery.

It certainly was awesome. All I could think of was "The cow jumped over the moon." It did take a different trajectory after liftoff, different from the last one.

[Jazzcat]

We set our alarm to get up in time to watch the 2:30 lift off and were not disappointed! It was larger and brighter than any previous launches that we have seen. Did anyone else notice a low "thundering" shortly after the boosters returned?

[chrisinva]

Thanks!!!!!

[blueash]

Originally Posted by Jazzcat

We set our alarm to get up in time to watch the 2:30 lift off and were not disappointed! It was larger and brighter than any previous launches that we have seen. Did anyone else notice a low "thundering" shortly after the boosters returned?

Yes, but I can't convince myself it was sound transmitted from the Cape. Sort of a low rumble that lasted for perhaps 10 seconds. But the calculation is possible to do. Sound moves at about 1125 feet per second. The cape is 90 miles or 475200 feet straight line distance from TV. So 475200 feet / 1125 ft/sec = 422 secs or 7 minutes. Now the reentry burn was at 7:13 secs so darn close to the right time.