Cosmik
⭐ Go ProOpen the live map →
🌒 Partial lunar eclipse — in 3 days

Vandenberg launch schedule

Wondering what's launching from Vandenberg today? The next mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base (SFB) is shown live at the top of the schedule below, with its exact liftoff time — updated automatically through every slip and scrub.

Vandenberg — still widely called Vandenberg AFB (its name before the 2021 rename to Vandenberg Space Force Base) and often misspelled “Vandenburg” — sits on California's central coast near Lompoc. It flies rockets into polar and sun-synchronous orbits, mostly SpaceX Falcon 9 Starlink and national-security missions. Evening launches are famous for the glowing “space jellyfish” plume visible across Southern California.

Next up

Starlink Group 15-22 — launch time & how to watch

26 Aug 2026, 09:27 UTC · Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA · Go

🚀 Liftoff tomorrow — 26 August 2026, 09:27 UTC

Set for 26 August 2026, 09:27 UTC. Dates slip constantly: holds, weather, range conflicts. We'll alert you if it moves or scrubs, and again about an hour before liftoff.

Free · no account · unsubscribe anytime

✈ Telegram

Upcoming launches

Recent launches

What time is today's Vandenberg launch?

The next launch time from Vandenberg is shown live at the top of the schedule above, in UTC — it updates automatically as the mission is confirmed, slips or scrubs. Vandenberg launches are timed for precise orbital windows, so the clock can shift by minutes or by days.

Where can I watch a Vandenberg launch?

Public viewing spots near Vandenberg Space Force Base include Lompoc, Surf Beach, Ocean Beach County Park and the Highway-1 pullouts north of the base. For south-bound Starlink launches, much of the Santa Barbara and Ventura coast gets a clear view too — you just need a low western or southern horizon and clear skies.

Can you hear a Vandenberg launch?

Close to the base — around Lompoc and Surf Beach — yes: a low rumble reaches you a minute or two after liftoff, once the sound catches up to the rocket. Farther away in Santa Barbara or Los Angeles you'll usually see the plume but hear little or nothing.

Why do Vandenberg launches scrub?

Launches slip or scrub for weather (upper-level winds or fog), range conflicts, or a last-second technical hold. Polar-orbit missions from Vandenberg often have instantaneous windows, so a single issue pushes the attempt to the next day. The schedule above always shows the current target time.

Can I see Vandenberg launches from Los Angeles?

Yes — especially twilight launches, when the exhaust plume lights up into the famous “space jellyfish” and is visible across SoCal and sometimes as far as Arizona.

More launch hubs

✦ Premium

Cosmik Pro

When clouds kill the pass, Pro tells you where nearby the sky WILL be clear — and how far. Plus your own alert timing, several locations, every visible pass instead of just the next one, and no ads.

or pay now

🔒 Secure checkout by Stripe · 14-day money-back · cancel anytime

Gear worth looking up with

Celestron SkyMaster 15×70Binoculars

Celestron SkyMaster 15×70

The big-aperture classic: ISS passes, Moon craters, star clusters.

≈ $90Amazon →
Celestron NexStar 130SLTTelescope · GoTo

Celestron NexStar 130SLT

Finds 4,000 objects for you. The best-selling first serious scope.

≈ $480Amazon →
Gskyer 70mm AZStarter scope

Gskyer 70mm AZ

Light, simple, kid-proof — Moon & planets from a balcony.

≈ $100Amazon →
ISO 12312-2 eclipse glassesEclipse · Aug 12

ISO 12312-2 eclipse glasses

Certified solar viewers — the only safe way to watch the eclipse.

≈ $15 /5-packAmazon →

As an Amazon Associate, Cosmik earns from qualifying purchases. Prices indicative. Glasses photo CC BY-SA (Wikimedia Commons).