SpaceX’s Thursday night launch may be visible from southwest, central Virginia

The launch is scheduled from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for Wednesday at 8:44 p.m.

Charles Hendrix - Dublin (Copyright 2021 by WSLS 10 - All rights reserved.)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fl – SpaceX is launching its 25th cargo resupply mission from Florida’s Space Coast Thursday evening. As of Thursday morning, their scheduled liftoff time is 8:44 p.m. and can be streamed live here.

There’s the chance that we see the vapor trail from the launch minutes after the fact (up until 9 p.m.). Your best bet is to find a higher location and look southeast.

Recommended Videos



Rocket launch from Florida's Space Coast Thursday evening

Sunset in our corner of the Commonwealth occurs shortly before 8:44 p.m., so it won’t be completely dark out.

(It may not appear as vibrant is it does in the headline image, taken from Dublin, Virginia in the spring of 2021.)

Most clouds will be farther east, but could still be enough to impede our view.

If you get pictures or video of the vapor trail, make sure to submit it here on Pin It.


About the Author:

Meteorologist Chris Michaels is an American Meteorological Society (AMS) Certified Broadcaster, forecasting weather conditions in southwest Virginia on WSLS 10 News from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. weekdays on Virginia Today.