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
ConnectedCosmos Launch 1 — launch time & how to watchQ4 2026 · date TBC · Space Launch Complex 2W, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA · TBD
🚀 ConnectedCosmos Launch 1 — launch time & how to watch
No confirmed launch date yet
The schedule only says Q4 2026. The day and the liftoff time don't exist yet — not here, not anywhere. There's nothing to count down to.
🚀 No confirmed launch date yet
We'll tell you the moment it gets a real date — and again about an hour before liftoff. Nothing else.
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✈ TelegramUpcoming launches
- ConnectedCosmos Launch 1 — launch time & how to watch — Q4 2026 · date TBC
- SDA Tranche 1 Transport Layer D — launch time & how to watch — Q4 2026 · date TBC
- SDA Tranche 1 Transport Layer F — launch time & how to watch — Q4 2026 · date TBC
- SDA Tranche 1 Tracking Layer A — launch time & how to watch — Q4 2026 · date TBC
- SDA Tranche 1 Tracking Layer E — launch time & how to watch — Q4 2026 · date TBC
- SDA Tranche 2 Transport Layer E — launch time & how to watch — December 2026 · date TBC
- SDA Tranche 2 Transport Layer A — launch time & how to watch — 2026 · date TBC
- SDA Tranche 1 Tracking Layer C — launch time & how to watch — Q4 2026 · date TBC
Recent launches
- Starlink Group 15-22 Launches Successfully — 26 Aug 2026 — Success
- Starlink Group 15-20 — launch recap (22 August 2026) — Success
- Starlink Group 17-50 — launch recap (19 August 2026) — Success
- Falcon 9 Block 5 | USSF-366 — launch recap (16 August 2026) — Success
- Starlink Group 17-49 — launch recap (12 August 2026) — Success
- Starlink Group 17-38 — launch recap (8 August 2026) — Success
- Starlink Group 17-53 — launch recap (4 August 2026) — Success
- Starlink Group 17-52 — launch recap (1 August 2026) — Success
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.
