RTLS

Falcon 9 lifts off at 04:15 AM, April 21, 2025 to start the CRS-32 mission to ISS.
Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville

SpaceX and NASA launched the CRS-32 mission early Monday morning from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center. After an apparently event-free countdown, liftoff was at 04:15:34 AM ET. About 7.5 minutes after liftoff, the booster used for the flight returned to land at Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Shortly after reaching its initial orbit Cargo Dragon successfully separated from its launch vehicle and is now targeted to dock at the International Space Station on Tuesday, April 22, around 8:20 AM. ET.

Payload

According to NASA, slightly less than 6,700 pounds of cargo have been sent to ISS-NL. Hardware, supplies and science make up the bulk of the payload sent on it way earlier today.

Launch Replay

Next Launch

Spectators and Space Coast residents won’t have to wait long for the next launch and also the next RTLS (Return To Launch Site) mission: tonight (Monday, April 21) SpaceX is planning to launch the Bandwagon 3 mission from Cape Canaveral.

Falcon 9 Block 5 | Bandwagon-3 Mission Details
Mission Falcon 9 Block 5 | Bandwagon-3
Organization SpaceX
Location Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Rocket Falcon 9 Block 5
Pad Space Launch Complex 40
Status Go for Launch
Status Info Current T-0 confirmed by official or reliable sources.
Window Opens Monday, 04/21/2025 8:43:00 PM EDT
Window Closes Monday, 04/21/2025 9:23:00 PM EDT
Destination Low Earth Orbit
Mission Description Dedicated rideshare flight to a mid-inclination orbit with dozens of small microsatellites and nanosatellites for commercial and government customers. The mission includes payloads such as the PHOENIX re-entry capsule, 425Sat-3, and Tomorrow-S7. The Falcon 9 first stage booster B1090 will be making its third flight and is scheduled to land back at Landing Zone 2 (LZ-2) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. A sonic boom is likely to occur a few minutes after launch as the booster returns to the launch site. Be prepared for a loud but thrilling experience!
Falcon 9 launch
Through the mangroves, the flight of Falcon 9 as a timelapse.
Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
After separating from the second stage, Falcon 9’s booster put on a show.
Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Read more

SpaceX Falcon 9 launching the Koreasat 6A mission from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville

SpaceX launched the Koreasat 6A satellite from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center this afternoon. Liftoff was at 12:22 PM EDT under blue skies and on a warm afternoon here on the Space Coast.

Several minutes after launching, Booster B1067 touched down at Landing Zone 1 in Cape Canaveral and became the first SpaceX booster to successfully complete 23 launches and landings. Two other Falcon 9 boosters have also flown 23 times, with one being expended (with no landing attempt) and another that did not land successfully and was destroyed.

About the same time that the booster landed, the initial orbit for the payload was achieved. At 12:57 PM EST SpaceX announced the payload had been successfully deployed, concluding another successful Falcon 9 mission for the company.

SpaceX Falcon 9 launching with the Koreasat 6A payload aboard on November 11, 2024.
Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville

Launch Replay

By The Numbers

  • 112th SpaceX launch this year
  • 20th launch from LC-39A this year
  • 39th consecutive successful Falcon 9 launch
  • 424th SpaceX launch all time
  • 368th Falcon Family Booster landing
  • 47th landing on LZ-1
Falcon 9 emerging from behind its contrail this afternoon over the coast of Florida.
Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville

Next Launch

Space Coast residents will not have to wait very long until the next launch: Starlink 6-69 is scheduled for today, with the launch window opening at 4:28 PM EST and extending to 7:44 PM. The payload is another group of Starlink satellites to join SpaceX’s constellation of data satellites.

  • Date: NET November 11, 2024
  • Organization: SpaceX / NASA
  • Mission: Starlink 6-69
  • Rocket: Falcon 9
  • Launch Site: Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral
  • Launch Window: 4:28 PM – 7:44 PM EST
  • Payload: Starlink satellites

Keep in mind that launch dates and times change often. Launch attempts can be scrubbed anytime due to weather, technical reasons, or range conditions.

Falcon 9 ascending with the Koreasat 6A satellite on November 11, 2024
Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Read more

The US Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron has released their Mission Execution Forecast for tomorrow’s planned launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 carrying NG’s Cygnus cargo craft towards the International Space Station. They are predicting nearly ideal conditions, with only a 5% chance of a Probability of Violation, meaning they expect a 95% chance of acceptable weather conditions.

The 01/29/2024 forecast from the 45th Weather Squadron.
Courtesy US Space Force

Launch Time & Location

The NG-20 mission will launch from SpaceX’s launch pad at SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The launch time is an instantaneous window 12:07 PM EST. If for some reason the launch is delayed, there is a backup launch opportunity available on Thursday, February 1 at 11:18 a.m. ET.

Launch Trajectory

Falcon 9 will travel to the northeast, on a 51.2281˚inclination.

Sonic Boom Alert!

NG-20 is an RTLS mission, meaning the booster will return to Cape Canaveral 8.25 minutes after liftoff. As with all RTLS launches, a loud sonic boom will be heard across the Space Coast.

Graphic: Wave pressure at a distance of 5 miles (8.05 km). Via Acoustical Society of America.

Launch Viewing

Banana River Bridge

For unobstructed views of the liftoff and landing, the Banana River Bridge on FL 528 (aka The Beachline, and sometimes erroneously called A1A) is your best bet.

Basic Overview

Launch View

View from the Banana River Bridge.
Photo: Charles Boyer

Landing View

View of Booster Landing From Banana River Bridge
Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville

Jetty Park

Jetty Park offers a closer view of the returning booster and landing, but it has an occluded view of the launch.

Jetty Park is located at 100 Jetty Park Rd, Port Canaveral, FL 32920.

Others

Playalinda Beach in the Cape Canaveral National Seashore will likely be open for this launch. It is quite far from the launch and landing, but you should still get some great views.

Parks along US1 In Titusville are further away from the action as well, but especially in the southern end of town, for example at Kennedy Point Park, good views are available.

Cocoa Beach also will have some good views of the rocket flight, but you are not going to see the liftoff and perhaps the landing burns. You will definitely feel the sonic boom, however!

Read more

Smog on the water, and a fire in the sky…

On a cool night with fog and a slight scent of nearby prescribed forest burns mixed together into a thin layer of smog on many Space Coast waterways, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station ten minutes before midnight on January 10th, 2023.

The commercial payload launch carried forty satellites for OneWeb for their commercial Internet service, nudging the company’s network closer to full operational capability. Eight minutes later, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 booster returned to Cape Canaveral for landing a few miles away from the launch site.

Falcon 9's "long tail" flame plume close to main engine cutoff on January 10, 2023
Falcon 9’s “long tail” flame plume close to main engine cutoff on January 10, 2023
Read more

I’ve been playing around with making videos the past year or so, mainly as an aside to creating still photographs of launches around the Cape.

Honestly, results have been mixed: video requires a somewhat different skillset, even when you are using the same equipment, and it certainly requires your full attention to great anything close to what I’d label as “good.” As far as skills go, I am improving, but have a ways to go. I personally hate the sound of my own voice on a recording, but I need to get over that and start narrating my videos, and I also probably need to put myself on video as well to personalize the experience. I plan to do that with my next video and from there out.

Anyways, here’s my latest attempt at recording the event of a space launch from the viewpoint of being a visitor. I had tickets to the LC-39 gantry, which is the closest place the general public can get to a launch from SpaceX’s SLC-40 complex, and I made video from the gate to Kennedy Space Center Visitors Center onward.

Read more