Hours after an historic NASA mission around the moon is set to end with a splashdown off the San Diego coast, Hawthorne-based SpaceX is set Friday evening to launch a rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Central California, potentially offering a spectacular light show across the Southland.
The Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to launch at about 8 p.m. Friday from the base near Lompoc, carrying 25 Starlink internet-service satellites into orbit.
Continuing a SpaceX tradition, the first-stage rocket booster propelling the satellites into space will return to Earth, landing on a drone ship called “Of Course I Still Love You” stationed in the Pacific Ocean. Friday’s launch will be the 32nd flight of the rocket booster. SpaceX has pioneered the recovery and reuse of rocket boosters, cutting the cost of launches by millions of dollars.
Evening rocket launches from Vandenberg often create dazzling light displays visible across the Southland and much of the West Coast, depending on cloud cover and trajectory.
The most recent SpaceX launch occurred just a few days ago, on Monday night, and was visible across a wide area.