space yacht tonight

SpaceX rocket launch doubleheader this weekend! Where to watch in Sebastian, Vero Beach

Best views to watch a rocket launch is along the beach. visibility in indian river, st. lucie & martin county will depend on weather conditions..

Day or night, watching a rocket launch on the beach is so Florida. But can someone on the Treasure Coast of Florida see a rocket launch from Kennedy Space Center or Cape Canaveral ?

Weather permitting and depending on cloud cover, yes. We have suggestions on where and how to watch a rocket launch from Indian River County, Martin County or St. Lucie County below if you keep scrolling.

Is there a rocket launch in Florida today? Rocket launch calendar for Florida

Here's what we know about the rocket launch missions, mentioned in  FLORIDA TODAY's rocket launch calendar  for the month, which is updated frequently. (Check that link often for rocket launch times and dates because they are routinely subject to change for a variety of reasons.)

FLORIDA TODAY, a USA TODAY Network-Florida newspaper, provides interactive launch coverage at  floridatoday.com/space  with frequent updates on launches at least 90 minutes in advance, sometimes longer, depending on the mission. For questions or comments, email  Space Reporter Rick Neale  at [email protected] or tweet him  @rickneale1  on X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter. You also can contact Space Reporter Brooke Edwards at [email protected] or tweet her @brookeofstars on X or Instagram .

When is the next rocket launch at Kennedy Space Center, Florida? Saturday, April 27: SpaceX Galileo satellites

Though SpaceX has not publicly announced this mission, a National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency navigational warning shows this launch window will open Saturday, April 27, 2024.

• Mission:  A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch Galileo satellites for the European Space Agency's global navigation system from NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
• Launch window:  8:29 p.m. to 9:11 p.m. EDT Saturday, April 27, 2024
• Location:  Launch pad 39A
• Live coverage:  Starts 90 minutes before liftoff at  floridatoday.com/space .

Is there a rocket launch in Cape Canaveral, Florida? Sunday, April 28: SpaceX Starlink

Though SpaceX has not publicly announced this mission, a National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency navigational warning shows this launch window will open Sunday, April 28, 2024.

• Mission:  A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a batch of Starlink internet satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
• Launch window:  5:50 p.m. to 10:21 p.m. EDT Sunday, April 28, 2024
• Location:  Launch Complex 40
• Trajectory:  Southeast
• Local sonic boom:  No
• Booster landing:  Drone ship out on the Atlantic Ocean

Where can I watch SpaceX rocket launches online?

If you want to watch live rocket launch coverage,  FLORIDA TODAY's Space Team  will provide updates at  floridatoday.com/space , starting about 90 minutes before launch time. You can download the free app for iPhone or Android or type floridatoday.com/space into your browser.

Where can I see a Florida rocket launch in Indian River County, St. Lucie County and Martin County?

The best views to watch a rocket launch from neighboring Brevard County, aka the Space Coast, is here along the beach. Visibility in Indian River County,  St. Lucie County  and Martin County, part of the Treasure Coast, will depend on weather conditions, and people should make sure not to block traffic or rights of way on bridges and to follow posted rules at beaches. Look due north. Here are some recommended spots, from closest to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Kennedy Space Center to farthest:

• Pretty much anywhere in Brevard, you'll get a view of the rocket launch. That includes  Melbourne Beach , which borders Indian River County, or from Grant-Valkaria along the Indian River Lagoon.

•  Sebastian Inlet Park , 9700 S. State Road A1A, Melbourne Beach (there is a cost to enter)

•  Wabasso Beach Park , 1808 Wabasso Beach Road, Wabasso

•  Ambersands Beach Park , 12566 N. SR A1A, Vero Beach (free parking)

•  South Beach Park , 1700 Ocean Drive, Vero Beach (free parking)

•  Merrill Barber Bridge  in Vero Beach

•  Alma Lee Loy Bridge  in Vero Beach 

•  Fort Pierce Inlet , 905 Shorewinds Drive

•  Blind Creek Beachside  North and South, South Ocean Drive or SR A1A on Hutchinson Island in Fort Pierce

•  Blue Heron Beach , 2101 Blue Heron Blvd., Fort Pierce

•  Frederick Douglass Memorial Park , 3600 S. Ocean Drive, Fort Pierce

•  Dollman Park Beachside , 9200 South Ocean Drive, Jensen Beach

•  Herman's Bay Beach , 7880 South Ocean Drive, Jensen Beach

•  John Brooks Park Beachside , 3300 S Ocean Drive, Fort Pierce

•  Middle Cove Beach , 4600 South Ocean Drive, Fort Pierce

•  Normandy Beach  in Jensen Beach

•  Pepper Park Beachside , 3302 N. SR A1A, Fort Pierce

•  Walton Rocks Beach , which has a dog park, 6700 South Ocean Drive, Jensen Beach

•  Waveland Beach , 10350 S. Ocean Drive, Jensen Beach

•  House of Refuge and beach , 301 S.E. MacArthur Blvd., Stuart

•  State Road A1A causeway in Stuart

Rick Neale  is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY (for more of his stories,  click here .) Contact Neale at 321-242-3638 or  [email protected] . Twitter/X:  @RickNeale1

618 S Spring St, Los Angeles, CA 90014

34° 2.7163' N

118° 15.0683' W

Exchange LA

Subscribe to our newsletter club

Join our newsletter club to stay up to date with the latest headlines and offers.

• Enter your email *
• Consent Yes, I would like to receive the latest news, updates, and information about Exchange LA events, as well as updates on other Insomniac events and venues.

Sat Oct 14 Insomniac presents Space Yacht: Tech My House feat. Secret House Lineup

Venue : Exchange LA | 618 S. Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA

Add To Calendar :

Event Title

Event Description

Artist Details

OTHER INFORMATION

ENTRY GUIDELINES This event will follow all local & state health guidelines. Ages 21+. All sales are final. Please visit our FAQ page  HERE .

STUBHUB / VIVID SEATS / OTHER THIRD-PARTY RESELLERS Exchange LA has  NO association with StubHub, Vivid Seats, or any third-party resellers. Tickets purchased from these sites will not be valid for entry. Any tickets purchased from a third party will not give the buyer access to the ticket and its benefits. The only acceptable tickets for entry may be purchased through TicketWeb and, in some cases, TIXR. Your government-issued ID must match the name on the ticket.

Venue & Event Details

Date: saturday, october 14, 2023, door time: 10:00 pm pdt, age restriction: 21, address: 618 s. spring street, los angeles, ca.

NIGHTCLUB & SPECIAL EVENTS SPACE

Dtla's premier nightlife experience.

• [ April 25, 2024 ] Love INC of Brevard Honored as Recipient of $50,000 2024 Chick-fil-A True Inspiration Awards Grant Brevard Business News
• [ April 25, 2024 ] HOT OFF THE PRESS! April 29, 2024 Space Coast Daily News – Brevard County’s Best Newspaper Brevard News
• [ April 25, 2024 ] 4EVER YOUNG Anti-Aging Solutions Merritt Island Offering Exciting Specials During April Brevard News
• [ April 25, 2024 ] Eastern Florida State College Tennis Player Hugo Car Named ITA Regional Sophomore of the Year Brevard News
• [ April 25, 2024 ] Holy Trinity Tigers 4-Star Shooting Guard Martay Barnes Ranks No. 12 on ESPN’s Top 25 List Brevard News

Home » Home » SpaceX Pushes Rocket Launch to Sunday at Cape Canaveral

SpaceX Pushes Rocket Launch to Sunday at Cape Canaveral

By Space Coast Daily  //  February 24, 2024

coverage of the launch can be seen on Space Coast Daily TV

WATCH LIVE: SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 24 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral

Liftoff is targeted for 8:57 p.m. ET.

If needed, additional opportunities are also available on Sunday, February 25 starting at 4:34 p.m. ET.

This is the 13th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched CRS-24, Eutelsat HOTBIRD 13F, OneWeb 1, SES-18 and SES-19, and eight Starlink missions.

Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

Similar Stories

Featured stories.

Click Here to Sign Up for Text Alerts

Or Signup Below For Email Alerts!

Highlights From SpaceX’s Starship Test Flight

The powerful rocket, a version of which will carry astronauts to the moon for NASA, launched for the third time on Thursday morning. It achieved a number of milestones before losing contact with the ground.

• Share full article

Kenneth Chang

Here’s what happened during the third test flight of the most powerful rocket ever built.

Spacex launches starship for third time, the rocket, a version of which will eventually carry nasa astronauts to the moon, traveled almost halfway around the earth before it was lost as it re-entered the atmosphere..

“Five, four, three, two, three, one.” “This point, we’ve already passed through Max-Q, maximum dynamic pressure. And passing supersonic, so we’re now moving faster than the speed of sound. Getting those on-board views from the ship cameras. Boosters now making its way back, seeing six engines ignited on ship. Kate, we got a Starship on its way to space and a booster on the way back to the Gulf.” “Oh, man. I need a moment to pick my jaw up from the floor because these views are just stunning.”

The third try turned out to be closer to the charm for Elon Musk and SpaceX, as his company’s mammoth Starship rocket launched on Thursday and traveled about halfway around the Earth before it was lost as it re-entered the atmosphere.

The test flight achieved several key milestones in the development of the vehicle, which could alter the future of space transportation and help NASA return astronauts to the moon.

This particular flight was not, by design, intended to make it all the way around the Earth. At 8:25 a.m. Central time, Starship — the biggest and most powerful rocket ever to fly — lifted off from the coast of South Texas. The ascent was smooth, with the upper Starship stage reaching orbital velocities. About 45 minutes after launch, it started re-entering the atmosphere, heading toward a belly-flop splashdown in the Indian Ocean.

Live video, conveyed in near real-time via SpaceX’s Starlink satellites , showed red-hot gases heating the underside of the vehicle. Then, 49 minutes after launch, communications with Starship ended, and SpaceX later said the vehicle had not survived the re-entry, presumably disintegrating and falling into the ocean.

Even so, Bill Nelson, the administrator of NASA, congratulated SpaceX on what he called a “successful test flight” of the system his agency is counting on for some of its Artemis lunar missions.

SpaceX aims to make both the vehicle’s lower rocket booster and the upper spacecraft stage capable of flying over and over again — a stark contrast to the single-launch throwaway rockets that have been used for most of the space age.

That reusability gives SpaceX the potential to drive down the cost of lofting satellites and telescopes, as well as people and the things they need to live in space.

Completing most of the short jaunt was a reassuring validation that the rocket’s design appears to be sound. Not only is Starship crucial for NASA’s lunar plans, it is the key to Mr. Musk’s pipe dream of sending people to live on Mars.

For Mr. Musk, the success also harks back to his earlier reputation as a technological visionary who led breakthrough advances at Tesla and SpaceX, a contrast with his troubled purchase of Twitter and the polarizing social media quagmire that has followed since he transformed the platform and renamed it X. Even as SpaceX launched its next-generation rocket, the social media company was dueling with Don Lemon , a former CNN anchor who was sharing clips from a combative interview with Mr. Musk.

SpaceX still needs to pull off a series of formidable rocketry firsts before Starship is ready to head to the moon and beyond. Earlier this week, Mr. Musk said he hoped for at least six more Starship flights this year, during which some of those experiments may occur.

But if it achieves them all, the company could again revolutionize the space transportation business and leave competitors far behind.

Phil Larson, a White House space adviser during the Obama administration who also previously worked on communication efforts at SpaceX, said Starship’s size and reusability had “massive potential to change the game in transportation to orbit. And it could enable whole new classes of missions.”

NASA is counting on Starship to serve as the lunar lander for Artemis III, a mission that will take astronauts to the surface of the moon for the first time in more than 50 years. That journey is currently scheduled for late 2026 but seems likely to slide to 2027 or later.

The third flight was a marked improvement from the first two launch attempts.

Last April, Starship made it off the launchpad, but a cascade of engine failures and fires in the booster led to the rocket’s destruction 24 miles above the Gulf of Mexico.

In November, the second Starship launch traveled much farther. All 33 engines in the Super Heavy booster worked properly during ascent, and after a successful separation, the upper Starship stage nearly made it to orbital velocities. However, both stages ended up exploding.

Nonetheless, Mr. Musk hailed both test flights as successes, as they provided data that helped engineers improve the design.

Thursday’s launch — which coincided with the 22nd anniversary of the founding of SpaceX — occurred 85 minutes into a 110-minute launch window. The 33 engines in the booster ignited at the launch site outside Brownsville, Texas, and lifted the rocket, which was as tall as a 40-story building, into the morning sky.

Most of the flight proceeded smoothly, and a number of test objectives were achieved during the flight, like opening and closing the spacecraft’s payload doors, which will be needed to deliver cargo in the future.

SpaceX did not attempt to recover the booster this time, but did have it perform engine burns that will be needed to return to the launch site. However, the final landing burn for the booster, conducted over the Gulf of Mexico, did not fully succeed — an area that SpaceX will attempt to fix for future flights.

SpaceX said the Super Heavy disintegrated at an altitude of about 1,500 feet.

SpaceX engineers will also have to figure out why Starship did not survive re-entry and make fixes to the design of the vehicle.

Even with the partial success of Thursday’s flight, Starship is far from ready to go to Mars, or even the moon. Because of Mr. Musk’s ambitions for Mars, Starship is much larger and much more complicated than what NASA needs for its Artemis moon landings. For Artemis III, two astronauts are to spend about a week in the South Pole region of the moon.

“He had the low price,” Daniel Dumbacher, the executive director of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and a former high-level official at NASA, said of Mr. Musk, “and NASA chose to take the risk associated with that configuration hoping that it would work out. And we’ll see if that turns out to be true.”

To leave Earth’s orbit, Starship must have its propellant tanks refilled with liquid methane and liquid oxygen. That will require a complex choreography of additional Starship launches to take the propellants to orbit.

“This is a complicated, complicated problem, and there’s a lot that has to get sorted out, and a lot that has to work right,” Mr. Dumbacher said.

Thursday’s flight included an early test of that technology, moving liquid oxygen from one tank to another within Starship.

Mr. Dumbacher does not expect Starship to be ready by September 2026, the launch date NASA currently has for Artemis III, although he would not predict how much of a delay there might be. “I’m not going to give you a guess because there is way too much work, way too many problems to solve,” he said.

Kenneth Chang and Michael Roston

A rare sight: Starship’s bright orange glow as it re-entered Earth’s atmosphere.

Just past the 45-minute mark of the Starship vehicle’s journey through space on Thursday, something eerie happened. As it drifted high above Earth’s oceans and clouds, the spacecraft’s silvery exterior was overtaken by a brilliant and fiery orange glow.

Starship re-entering Earth's atmosphere. Views through the plasma pic.twitter.com/HEQX4eEHWH — SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 14, 2024

When a spacecraft re-enters the atmosphere, the air beneath it gets hot — hot enough that it turns into a plasma of charged particles as electrons are stripped away from the air molecules. The charged particles create picturesque glows, like neon signs.

But seeing this happen in nearly real-time during a spaceflight is uncommon. That plasma disrupts radio signals, cutting off communication.

Such blackouts happen, for instance, when SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule returns to Earth from the International Space Station with its complement of four astronauts. Mission controllers must wait with bated breath to be reassured that the spacecraft’s heat shield has held up and protected the crew during atmospheric re-entry.

Until Starship succumbed to the intense forces of re-entry on Thursday, SpaceX used its Starlink internet satellites to relay the live video feed. The Starlink satellites are in higher orbits, and sending signals upward — away from the plasma — is easier than trying to communicate through it to antennas on the ground.

But Starship wasn’t the only spacecraft in recent weeks to give us a view of plasma heating. Varda Space, a startup that is developing technology for manufacturing in orbit, had cameras on a capsule it landed on Earth on Feb. 21. Before it parachuted to the ground, its Winnebago capsule recorded a day-glow re-entry. The company retrieved the video recording from the capsule and shared it online:

Here's a video of our capsule ripping through the atmosphere at mach 25, no renders, raw footage: pic.twitter.com/ZFWzdjBwad — Varda Space Industries (@VardaSpace) February 28, 2024

Advertisement

Jeff Bezos’s rocket company could race SpaceX to the moon.

Which billionaire space company will get to the moon first: Elon Musk’s SpaceX or Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin?

At first glance, SpaceX seems to have a huge head start. It is about to launch the third test flight of Starship. A variation of Starship is scheduled to take NASA astronauts to the surface of the moon as soon as September 2026.

By contrast, Blue Origin has yet to launch anything into orbit, and its contract with NASA for a lunar lander for astronauts is for a mission that is launching in 2030.

But Blue Origin might still get there first. SpaceX faces major challenges with Starship, which is as tall as 16-story building, while Blue Origin plans to send a smaller cargo lander to the moon by the end of next year.

“This lander, we’re expecting to land on the moon between 12 and 16 months from today,” John Couluris, senior vice president of lunar permanence at Blue Origin, said during a n interview on the CBS News program “60 Minutes” this month.

The first launch of the Mark 1 version of the Blue Moon lander is what Blue Origin calls a “pathfinder” to test technologies like the BE-7 engine, the flight computers, avionics and power systems — the same systems that will be used in the much larger Mark 2 lander that will take astronauts to the moon’s surface.

The Mark 1 lander can carry up to three tons of cargo to the lunar surface, but will be small enough to fit inside one of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rockets . New Glenn has yet to fly, but the company says its debut journey will occur later this year.

After Blue Moon Mark 1 is launched into an orbit about 125 miles above Earth’s surface, the lander’s BE-7 engine will propel it toward the moon, slowing it down to enter orbit around the moon and then guiding it to the landing on the surface.

The smaller size means that the Mark 1 lander, unlike Starship, will not need to be refueled before leaving Earth orbit. Demonstrating that refueling technology in orbit will be a key test to validate Starship’s design. Refueling will also be needed for the Blue Moon Mark 2 lander.

Mr. Musk and Mr. Bezos have already been beaten to the moon by another billionaire, Kam Ghaffarian , one of the founders of Intuitive Machines, which put a small robotic lander named Odysseus near the lunar south pole in February . That was the first private spacecraft to successfully make it to the moon’s surface in one piece (although its journey had some hiccups ).

As with every American rocket mishap, the Federal Aviation Administration will open an investigation to review what went wrong and what SpaceX needs to do to correct it. But if, as Elon Musk says, there are at least six more Starship flights this year, SpaceX will have opportunities to complete a full test flight.

Starship's third flight went very far, but like its first two flights, it was not a complete success. The landing burn for the Super Heavy booster stage of the rocket — the aim was to “land” it in the Gulf of Mexico — was not fully successful, and the Starship craft did not survive re-entry. But it was marked significant progress, because none of the problems from the earlier flights recurred, and SpaceX engineers now have data to tackle the new problems.

Michael Roston

On the social media site X, Bill Nelson, the administrator of NASA, congratulated SpaceX on what he called a “successful test flight” of Starship. The agency is counting on Starship to land astronauts on the moon’s surface as part of the Artemis III mission. Another vehicle, the Orion capsule, is to be used to bring those astronauts back to Earth.

SpaceX says Starship did not survive re-entry, but it achieved several key milestones during the flight. That marks significant progress since the second test flight. Elon Musk has said he hopes there will be a half-dozen Starship flights this year.

SpaceX says a dual loss of communication, both through its own Starlink satellites and other forms spacecraft communications with Earth, suggest that Starship did not survive re-entry. They’re still listening to see if radio contact resumes.

Video is gone. Telemetry is also stuck at a speed 25,707 kilometers per hour and an altitude of 65 kilometers. The reason is not clear.

Starship already has private customers booked for deep space trips.

Starship has not yet done a full orbit of the Earth, but SpaceX already has three private astronaut missions on its manifest for the spacecraft.

The first flight with astronauts aboard will be led by Jared Isaacman who previously bought an orbital trip on a Falcon 9 rocket that was known as Inspiration4 .

Then two other Starship flights will travel around the moon and back, one led by Yusaku Maezawa , a Japanese entrepreneur, and the other by Dennis Tito, who was the first private individual to buy a trip to the International Space Station in 2001.

Back in 2018 when Mr. Maezawa signed up for the lunar flyby, Mr. Musk said Starship would be ready by 2023.

Mr. Maezawa later called the mission ‘dearMoon,’ inviting people to apply for a seat on the trip. Last week, he acknowledged it was not going to happen this year.

“We were planning for our lunar orbital mission ‘dearMoon’ to take place in 2023, but seems like it will take a little longer,” he wrote on the social network X. “We’re not sure when the flight will be, but we will give you all an update once we know more.”

SpaceX is apparently also planning uncrewed cargo flights to the surface of the moon with Starship.

In March last year, a small start-up company, Astrolab, announced that it was sending a Jeep Wrangler-size rover to surface in the south polar region of the moon , and the ride would be a cargo Starship flight that would take it there.

SpaceX did not confirm the news.

This appears to be part of the expanding potential market for Starship. SpaceX also plans to use the rocket for launching its second generation of Starlink internet communications satellites .

Starship is re-entering Earth's atmosphere. We’re seeing the heating on the flaps, with video being transmitted to the ground through SpaceX's Starlink satellites. The view is incredible. Usually the plasma disrupts radio transmissions.

SpaceX skipped the restart of one of the Raptor engines on the upper stage of Starship. It did conduct the propellant transfer test and the opening and closing of the payload door, which means the flight achieved some of its experimental objectives during its coast around the Earth, but not others. Next stop: Re-entry through the atmosphere and a hard bellyflop in the Indian Ocean.

The music on the livestream is more old-fashioned than the ambient beats we’re used to during SpaceX video feeds. But there’s nothing old-fashioned about the views in space from the rocket, which are unreal, but have not always been visible as its connection to the ground comes and goes.

During this period of the flight, Starship is scheduled to perform several tests. The first, opening the payload door, is complete. It will also move several tons of liquid oxygen between two tanks within Starship. That’s a preliminary test for future in-orbit refueling between two Starships, which is critical for sending the vehicle to the moon. Finally, Starship will try to restart one of its Raptor engines in the vacuum of space, something it has not done before.

The payload door of the upper Starship rocket stage is now open. That’s how a future Starship will deploy Starlink satellites, and demonstrating that it works was one of the objectives of today's flight.

The engines on the upper-stage of the rocket successfully completed their burn. Starship is now coasting in space, on a trajectory that will re-enter the atmosphere over the Indian Ocean.

We were watching the booster attempting to land in the Gulf of Mexico. But the camera feed cut off, and we're not sure what actually happened. The upper stage Starship is still continuing on its trajectory toward the Indian Ocean.

The Super Heavy booster stage of the rocket appears to be headed back to Earth. During the last attempt, the booster exploded at this point, so it looks like SpaceX has fixed that issue.

The large Super Heavy booster stage has separated from the Starship upper stage, which is on its way to space. The flight is looking good.

All 33 Raptor engines in the booster are working fine. So far everything looks good.

Less than 2 minutes until liftoff. Propellant tanks are full, and wind will not prevent an on-time liftoff.

Starship is less than 10 minutes away from its third launch. The countdown is going smoothly.

What will happen during Starship’s third test flight.

For its third test flight, Starship aims to fly part of the way around the Earth, starting from SpaceX’s launch site in Boca Chica Village, Texas, and splashing down in the Indian Ocean.

The earlier test flights — both of which ended in explosions — aimed to come down in waters off Hawaii. SpaceX said it had set the new flight path to allow for safe testing of things it hadn’t done before with the Starship vehicle.

The journey will start at the site that SpaceX calls Starbase, which is a few miles north of where Texas and Mexico meet along the Gulf of Mexico. The rocket, nearly 400 feet tall, will be mounted next to a launch tower that is about 480 feet tall. It will be filled with methane and liquid oxygen propellants during the hours before liftoff.

Three seconds before launch, computers will begin to ignite the 33 engines in the Super Heavy rocket booster beneath Starship.

Starship and Super Heavy will begin their ascent over the Gulf. At 52 seconds into the flight, SpaceX says, the vehicle will experience the heaviest atmospheric stress of its trip, a moment flight engineers call max-q.

If the stainless steel spacecraft survives that stress, the next key moment will occur 2 minutes and 42 seconds into flight, when most of the Super Heavy booster’s engines power down. Seconds later, the upper Starship vehicle will begin “hot-staging,” or lighting up its engines before separating from Super Heavy.

Super Heavy’s journey will end about seven minutes after launch. SpaceX would typically aim to return the massive rocket booster to the launch site for a vertical landing. But for the test flight, the spent Super Heavy will perform a series of maneuvers before firing its engines one last time to slow its descent into the Gulf of Mexico.

As Super Heavy is descending, Starship will be gaining altitude. About eight and a half minutes into its flight, its engines will switch off. It will then begin coasting around the Earth.

While floating through space, Starship will attempt several things that the spacecraft has never done. Nearly 12 minutes into the flight, it will open a door that in the future could deploy satellites and other cargo into space. About 12 minutes later, it will transfer propellants from one tank to another while in space, a technique needed for future journeys to the moon and beyond. Then, 40 minutes into the flight, Starship will relight one if its engines while in space.

If the spacecraft makes it through those experiments, the conclusion of Starship’s journey will start at about the 49-minute mark. The spacecraft is set to pivot horizontally into a belly-flop to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere. If it survives the extreme temperatures, Starship will splash down 64 minutes after it left Texas. The company has said in the past that it expects the belly-flop ocean landing to end in an explosion .

After SpaceX completes its testing campaign, future Starship flights will return to the Texas Starbase site after they complete their missions in orbit. SpaceX is also building a launch tower for Starship at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where flights could one day launch and land, including the Artemis III mission that NASA plans to use to return American astronauts to the moon’s surface.

SpaceX has started the company’s official live video stream from Texas, a sign that it is serious about igniting the rocket in about 20 minutes. You can watch it in the video player embedded above.

What went right and wrong during the 2nd Starship test flight.

The second test flight of Starship in November got a lot higher and faster than the first attempt seven months earlier.

During the first launch outside Brownsville, Texas, in April last year, things went wrong from the start — the exhaust of the engines of the Super Heavy booster excavated a hole beneath the launchpad, sending pieces of concrete flying up to three-quarters of a mile away and a plume of dust drifting 6.5 miles, blanketing the nearby town of Port Isabel. Several of the booster engines failed, and the upper stage never separated from the booster.

Instead, the rocket started making loop-de-loops before the flight termination system destroyed it.

During the second test flight , all 33 of the booster engines worked during ascent. A water deluge system protected the launchpad. The upper Starship stage separated from the booster and then made it most of the way to orbital velocity. However, the journeys of both the booster and the upper Starship stage still ended in explosions.

For the booster, as it dropped away from the upper stage, 13 of the 33 engines fired again to guide it toward the landing location. Although this particular booster was not going to be recovered, SpaceX wanted to test the re-entry techniques that are similar to what it currently uses for its smaller Falcon 9 rockets. However, something went wrong. Several engines shut down and then one blew up, causing the destruction of the booster.

In an update posted on the company’s website on Feb. 26 , SpaceX said the most likely cause of the booster failure was a blockage of a filter where liquid oxygen flowed to the engines. The company said it had made design changes to prevent that from happening again.

The upper stage continued upward for seven minutes after stage separation. This was itself an achievement because the company completed a step called hot-staging, during which the upper-stage engines ignite before the stage detaches from the Super Heavy booster.

Because the spacecraft was empty, extra liquid oxygen was loaded to simulate the weight of a future payload it could carry to orbit. But when the extra oxygen was dumped, a fire started, disrupting communication between the spacecraft’s flight computers. The computers shut down the engines and then set off the flight termination system, destroying the spacecraft.

The upper Starship stage reached an altitude of about 90 miles and a speed of about 15,000 miles per hour. For a spacecraft to reach orbit, it needs to accelerate to about 17,000 miles per hour.

What is Starship?

For Elon Musk, Starship is really a Mars ship. He envisions a fleet of Starships carrying settlers to the red planet in the coming years.

And for that eventual purpose, Starship, under development by Mr. Musk’s SpaceX rocket company , has to be big. Stacked on top of what SpaceX calls a Super Heavy booster, the Starship rocket system will be, by pretty much every measure, the biggest and most powerful ever.

It is the tallest rocket ever built — 397 feet tall, or about 90 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty including the pedestal.

And it has the most engines ever in a rocket booster: The Super Heavy has 33 of SpaceX’s powerful Raptor engines sticking out of its bottom. As those engines lift Starship off the launchpad in South Texas, they will generate 16 million pounds of thrust at full throttle.

NASA’s new Space Launch System rocket , which made its first flight in November 2022, holds the current record for the maximum thrust of a rocket: 8.8 million pounds. The maximum thrust of the Saturn V rocket that took NASA astronauts to the moon during the Apollo program was relatively paltry: 7.6 million pounds.

An even more transformative feature of Starship is that it is designed to be entirely reusable. The Super Heavy booster is to land much like those for SpaceX’s smaller Falcon 9 rockets, and Starship will be able to return from space belly-flopping through the atmosphere like a sky diver before pivoting to a vertical position for landing.

That means all of the really expensive pieces — like the 33 Raptor engines in the Super Heavy booster and six additional Raptors in Starship itself — will be used over and over instead of thrown away into the ocean after one flight.

That has the potential to cut the cost of sending payloads into orbit — to less than $10 million to take 100 tons to space, Mr. Musk has predicted.

Starship and Super Heavy are shiny because SpaceX made them out of stainless steel, which is cheaper than using other materials like carbon composites. But one side of Starship is coated in black tiles to protect the spacecraft from the extreme heat that it will encounter if it gets far enough in its flight to re-enter the atmosphere.

Here is what to know about Thursday’s SpaceX test flight.

The third try was closer to the charm for Elon Musk and SpaceX, as the company’s flight test of the mammoth Starship rocket launched on Thursday and traveled almost halfway around the Earth before it was lost as it re-entered the atmosphere.

The flight achieved some key milestones in the development of the vehicle, which could alter the future of space transportation and help NASA return astronauts to the moon.

This particular flight did not, by design, make it all the way around the Earth. At 9:25 a.m. Eastern time, Starship, the biggest and most powerful rocket ever to fly, lifted off from the coast of South Texas. About 45 minutes later it started its re-entry, but communications were lost a few minutes after that. The company said the rocket was lost before attempting to splash down in the Indian Ocean, a sign that more work needs to be completed on the vehicle.

That reusability gives SpaceX the potential to drive down the cost of lofting satellites and space telescopes, as well as people and the things they need to live in space.

Here’s what else to know:

Thursday’s flight demonstrated new capabilities for Starship. In addition to reaching orbital speeds, the Starship vehicle opened and closed its payload door and managed to move several tons of liquid oxygen between two tanks within the rocket, a key test needed for future missions.

The Starship system consists of two stages — the Super Heavy rocket booster and the upper-stage spacecraft, which is also called Starship. The company intends both to be fully reusable in the future. Read more about Starship .

Thursday’s launch was the third of Starship. Here’s a recap of what happened last time .

Shenzhou 18 Long March 2F/G

China aerospace science and technology corporation, 2 x galileo falcon 9 block 5, starlink group 6-54 falcon 9 block 5, starlink group 8-2 falcon 9 block 5, worldview legion 1 & 2 falcon 9 block 5, chang'e 6 long march 5, cst-100 starliner crewed flight test atlas v n22, united launch alliance, progress ms-27 (88p) soyuz 2.1a, russian federal space agency (roscosmos), capella acadia 3 electron, starlink group 7-28 falcon 9 block 5, starlink group 7-29 falcon 9 block 5, starlink group 8-3 falcon 9 block 5, starlink group 8-4 falcon 9 block 5, starlink group 8-5 falcon 9 block 5, flta005 (vcls demo 2 mission two) firefly alpha, firefly aerospace, support us on patreon.

NASA Launches Solar Sail to Test Sunlight-Propelled Space Travel

An artist’s depiction of the Solar Sail System spacecraft in orbit.

A new experimental mission by NASA is now flying in orbit, aiming to use photons from the Sun to propel its way to higher altitudes.

Update: April 24, 8:33 a.m. ET : Rocket Lab’s Electron blasted off at 6:32 p.m. ET on April 23, successfully delivering both payloads to low Earth orbit. The short delay was on account of issues with ground equipment.

Original article follows.

The Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3) is scheduled for launch on Tuesday during a launch window that opens at 6 p.m. ET. The mission will lift off on board a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from the company’s Launch Complex 1 on the Mahia Peninsula of New Zealand. You can tune in to the launch through Rocket Lab’s live stream on its website or watch it through the feed below.

NASA’s ACS3 is designed to test new materials and deployable structures for solar sail propulsion systems, including new composite booms that will be used to unfurl the solar sail once it reaches orbit. The composite booms are made from a polymer material; they’re lightweight while still being stiff and resistant to bending and warping when exposed to different temperatures. They work the same way as a sailboat’s boom, except they are designed to catch the propulsive power of sunlight rather than wind. Once unfurled, the solar sail will stretch across 30 feet (9 meters) per side.

Solar sails run on photons from the Sun, causing small bursts of momentum that propel the spacecraft farther away from the star. If a spacecraft is able to surpass the drag from Earth’s atmosphere, it could potentially reach very high altitudes.

Rocket Lab’s Electron will deploy the microwave-sized cubesat about 600 miles (966 kilometers) above Earth, which is roughly twice the altitude of the International Space Station. From there, the solar sail will be high enough to gain altitude and overcome atmospheric drag using the tiny force of sunlight on the sail, which is roughly equivalent to the weight of a paperclip resting on your palm, according to NASA .

NASA isn’t the only one being experimental on this mission. Rocket Lab is reusing an Electron booster for the first time during the upcoming launch. The company’s “Beginning Of The Swarm” mission will launch its Electron rocket with a booster that was already used for a previous launch .

On January 31, the “Four Of A Kind” mission saw the Electron rocket’s first stage fall back towards Earth with the help of a parachute before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean around 17 minutes after liftoff. The company recovered the rocket booster and is now reusing it for another flight. Rocket Lab has been experimenting with Electron’s reusability, hoping to inch itself closer to its main industry rival SpaceX. Electron’s upcoming launch will be a major test of the company’s ability to reuse the two-stage vehicle.

The Electron rocket will also be carrying NEONSAT-1, an Earth observation satellite for the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.

For more spaceflight in your life, follow us on X and bookmark Gizmodo’s dedicated Spaceflight page .

For the latest news, Facebook , Twitter and Instagram .

Rocket Launches Today

There is 1 launch scheduled for today. Find out more and watch live below!

Long March 2F/G | Shenzhou 18

Launch Countdown

Date & Time

25 Apr, 12:59pm

Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center

Launch Area 4 (SLS-1 / 921)

Launch Service Provider

Long March 2F/G

Spacecraft Stage

Shenzhou 18

Mission Type

Human Exploration

Destination

Low Earth Orbit

Seventh crewed flight to the Chinese space station.

Available Lives

VideoFromSpace

SPACE AFFAIRS

Watch Live! China's Shenzhou 18 crew launches to Tiangong space station

Updated: Apr 25, 10:30am UTC

🔔 Set up an email alert for upcoming launches

Get a weekly email containing all launches scheduled for the coming week.

Explore More

Past Launches

Explore all launches that have already taken place.

Scheduled Launches

Explore all scheduled and upcoming launches.

Launch Sites

Explore the main launch sites around the world.

Launch Providers

Explore the launch providers behind the launches.

• Park Overview Explore Missions Zones
• Heroes and Legends Space Pioneers
• Behind the Gates Kennedy Space Center Bus Tour
• Race to the Moon Apollo Moon Landing
• Shuttle: A Ship Like No Other NASA's Space Shuttle Program
• NASA Now + Next Preparing for Journey to Mars
• All Attractions
• Plan Your Visit
• Hours Of Operation
• Hotel Packages
• Travel Information
• Events Overview
• Event Calendar
• See A Launch
• Groups Overview Plan Events and Tours
• Youth Groups Programs and Field Trips
• Scouts Adventures for Scout Troops
• Private Events Events and Custom Tours
• International Programs and Custom Tours
• Camp KSC Day Camp for Students
• Educators Resources for Teachers
• Programs Educational Programs at KSC
• Accessibility Information

View Rocket Launches & Be Inspired

Come face-to-face with space during special events at Kennedy Space Center. Visitors can watch rockets blast off, meet astronauts and celebrate holidays in space, just to name a few. Make space in your travels for unique and inspiring experiences during your Florida vacation.

SEE A LAUNCH

Upcoming Rocket Launches

Find out about upcoming rocket launch viewing opportunities from the visitor complex.

NET MAY 6, 2024 | NASA's Boeing Starliner Crewed Flight Test

NET June 25, 2024 | SpaceX Falcon Heavy GOES-U

NET October 10, 2024 | SpaceX Falcon Heavy Europa Clipper

Featured events.

See what's happening at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

Meet Astronaut John D. Bartoe

Meet Astronaut Jim Newman

Meet Astronaut Anna Fisher

Plan your trip.

Kennedy Space Center Official Guide

Train like an astronaut.

Astronaut Training Experience

Choose your journey.

Spaceport KSC

• Exclusive Mixes

Space Yacht Celebrates 100th Release with New ‘A Sequence In Time’ Compilation

The third volume of A Sequence In Time marks a milestone for Space Yacht and features LUMBERJVCK, Vyhara, RANKZ, Kyral X Banko, and more.

Just a few short years ago, Space Yacht opened up a new chapter for the brand by launching a record label. Since then, Henry Lu and Rami Perlman have been a force to be reckoned with as the two continue to showcase their passion for supporting a wide range of genres and artists of all sizes through the imprint’s releases. Now, Space Yacht is celebrating its milestone hundredth release, and they’ve curated a hearty helping of bass for the third volume of A Sequence In Time .

Past iterations of A Sequence In Time have featured some seriously impressive tunes from dubstep, drum and bass, and trap artists, and the third in the series pulls no punches. DMTR and Skorpion lead the charge with plenty of drum and bass energy as “ You Got Me ” begins to fill speakers. The broken beat and flurry of chopped up vocals make this one stand tall as the two artists set the tone for what’s to come.

DEUCEZ delivers a dose of groovy dubstep on “ Higher ” that will have you wobbling along with its beat. But if 140 sounds are more up your alley, then A Sequence In Time Vol. 3 will satiate all of your cravings with the tunes from BASSGALAXY and Noiz-E-Boi , RANKZ , HMEWRK. , Vyhara , and Cavemen . All of these artists throw down some deep wubs that you can’t help but bop your head to.

As for some standouts, Kyral X Banko and Rivibes ‘ closing tune for the compilation, “ Control ,” features a sick lyrical flow that pairs perfectly with its subterranean bassline. LUMBERJVCK also shows off some impressive basslines with the ever-heavy “ TESLA ” and caps everything off by taking the reins of this edition’s mega mix to seamlessly showcase all the tracks.

Listen to A Sequence In Time Vol. 3 on Spotify or your preferred platform , and follow Space Yacht on social media for more releases and show announcements!

Stream A Sequence In Time Vol. 3 on Spotify:

A sequence in time vol. 3 – tracklist:.

• DMTR, Skorpion – You Got Me
• Noiz-E-Boi, BASSGALAXY – INTERFERENCE
• DEUCEZ – Higher
• RANZ – Want The Smoke
• HMEWRK. – Awaken
• ZCR, QL1X – Touch
• Vyhara – Fragment
• LUMBERJVCK – TESLA
• Cavemen – STMU
• Exxotik – Voltage
• Kyral X Banko, Rivibes – Control

Follow Space Yacht:

Website  |  Facebook  |  X  |  Instagram  |  SoundCloud  |  Twitch

Grant Gilmore

Grant Gilmore’s authoritative voice as a media professional lends credibility not common to EDM journalism. As the founder of EDM Identity he has effectively raised the bar on coverage of the past decade’s biggest youth culture phenomenon. After ten years of working for nonprofit organization Pro Player Foundation, Gilmore launched EDM Identity as a media outlet offering accurate informative coverage of the rave scene and electronic music as a whole. Although they cover comprehensive topic matter, they have taken special care in interviewing the likes of Armin van Buuren, Adventure Club, Gorgon City, Lane 8 and Afrojack. In addition to household names, they have also highlighted unsung heroes of the industry through their ID Spotlight segment. Whether he’s covering it or not, you can expect to find Grant Gilmore attending the next big electronic music event. To find out what’s next on his itinerary, follow him via the social links below.

Recently From Grant

Auris presents to open new live music venue in chicago, outset.

Festival News

III Points Reveals Initial Artists on 2024 Lineup

Porter robinson announces release date for third album.

• Privacy Policy
• Accessibility Statement

CONTACT INFO

• Festival Tips

Privacy settings

With the slider, you can enable or disable different types of cookies:, this website will:, this website won\'t:.

• Remember which cookies group you accepted
• Essential: Remember your cookie permission setting
• Essential: Allow session cookies
• Essential: Gather information you input into a contact forms, newsletter and other forms across all pages
• Essential: Keep track of what you input in a shopping cart
• Essential: Authenticate that you are logged into your user account
• Essential: Remember language version you selected
• Functionality: Remember social media settings
• Functionality: Remember selected region and country
• Analytics: Keep track of your visited pages and interaction taken
• Analytics: Keep track about your location and region based on your IP number
• Analytics: Keep track of the time spent on each page
• Analytics: Increase the data quality of the statistics functions
• Advertising: Tailor information and advertising to your interests based on e.g. the content you have visited before. (Currently we do not use targeting or targeting cookies.
• Advertising: Gather personally identifiable information such as name and location

share this!

April 18, 2024

This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

fact-checked

reputable news agency

SpaceX tallies 1st of two launches over two days from Space Coast

by Richard Tribou, Orlando Sentinel

SpaceX launched Wednesday evening the first of a pair of Space Coast rockets in two days, both carrying batches of the company's Starlink satellites.

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 23 of the internet satellites for SpaceX's growing constellation lifted off at 5:26 p.m. Eastern time from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A amid clear blue skies.

This is the 12th flight of the first-stage booster that will aim for a recovery landing downrange in the Atlantic on the droneship Just Read the Instructions.

This was the 28th launch from the Space Coast in 2024, with launch No. 29 targeting Thursday evening from neighboring Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Another Falcon 9 carrying more Starlink satellites is aiming for liftoff during four-hour window from 6:40 p.m. to 10:40 p.m. at Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 40 with a backup window Friday from 6:14 p.m. to 10:14 p.m.

Space Launch Delta 45's weather squadron forecasts a 90% chance for good conditions for that launch.

These will be the 157th and 158th overall Starlink launches since the first operational deployment of the internet satellites in 2019. Original launches sent up smaller versions, with many flying 60 at a time. While SpaceX awaits a functional version of its in-development Starship and Super Heavy rocket that will be able to fly up more and significantly larger versions, a midterm solution called the V2 Mini has been flying, but only 23 at a time usually.

With these batches SpaceX will have sent up more than 6,250 of the satellites, according to statistics tracked by astronomer Jonathan McDowell. Of those, McDowell states that through March 13, 5,809 are still in orbit, and 5,744 have been assessed as working. The Federal Communications Commission in 2022 upped SpaceX's license to allow for 7,500 satellites in its constellation.

SpaceX has flown all but two of the Space Coast launches this year, with United Launch Alliance responsible for the the others—the first Vulcan Centaur in January and the final Delta IV Heavy launch earlier this month. It's gearing up for its third launch, an Atlas V, with what would be the first crewed flight of Boeing's CST-100 Starliner taking up a pair of NASA astronauts to the International Space Station. It's aiming for a May 6 liftoff at 10:34 p.m.

SpaceX has several more launches on tap before then, most dedicated to Starlink.

Including this and Thursday's planned Starlink launch, 16 of SpaceX's 27 launches from the Space Coast will have been for Starlink.

Including its California launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base, they will have made up 27 of 40 launches for the year if Thursday's is successful as well. The company has stated it could fly as many as 148 orbital missions, which would break its record 96 flown in 2023.

The majority of those would be from KSC and Canaveral, which could surpass 100 launches for the year.

2024 Orlando Sentinel. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Explore further

Feedback to editors

Demonstration of heralded three-photon entanglement on a photonic chip

22 minutes ago

Ancient giant tortoise fossils found in Colombian Andes

2 hours ago

Emperor penguins perish as ice melts to new lows: Study

3 hours ago

Artificial intelligence helps scientists engineer plants to fight climate change

14 hours ago

Ultrasensitive photonic crystal detects single particles down to 50 nanometers

15 hours ago

Scientists map soil RNA to fungal genomes to understand forest ecosystems

Researchers show it's possible to teach old magnetic cilia new tricks

Mantle heat may have boosted Earth's crust 3 billion years ago

Study suggests that cells possess a hidden communication system

16 hours ago

Researcher finds that wood frogs evolved rapidly in response to road salts

Relevant physicsforums posts, waves in space.

5 hours ago

'Devil' comet visible tonight 21.04.24

11 hours ago

Solar Activity and Space Weather Update thread

Our beautiful universe - photos and videos, documenting the setup of my new telescope.

20 hours ago

What did I capture?

Apr 23, 2024

More from Astronomy and Astrophysics

Related Stories

SpaceX knocks out early morning Starlink launch from Cape Canaveral

Apr 8, 2024

SpaceX sends up Space Coast's 66th launch of the year

Nov 28, 2023

SpaceX aims for its 50th Space Coast launch this year

Oct 4, 2023

SpaceX lines up satellite launch from Cape Canaveral

Feb 21, 2024

SpaceX scrubs Wednesday launch attempt at Kennedy Space Center

Mar 14, 2024

SpaceX launches 11th Space Coast mission of 2024

Recommended for you.

Japan's moon lander wasn't built to survive a weekslong lunar night. It's still going after 3

Apr 24, 2024

NASA's Voyager 1 resumes sending engineering updates to Earth

Apr 22, 2024

Simulated microgravity affects sleep and physiological rhythms, study finds

'Tube map' around planets and moons made possible by knot theory

Apr 17, 2024

NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter team says goodbye—for now

NASA confirms mystery object that crashed through roof of Florida home came from space station

Apr 16, 2024

Let us know if there is a problem with our content

Use this form if you have come across a typo, inaccuracy or would like to send an edit request for the content on this page. For general inquiries, please use our contact form . For general feedback, use the public comments section below (please adhere to guidelines ).

Please select the most appropriate category to facilitate processing of your request

Thank you for taking time to provide your feedback to the editors.

Your feedback is important to us. However, we do not guarantee individual replies due to the high volume of messages.

E-mail the story

Your email address is used only to let the recipient know who sent the email. Neither your address nor the recipient's address will be used for any other purpose. The information you enter will appear in your e-mail message and is not retained by Phys.org in any form.

Newsletter sign up

Get weekly and/or daily updates delivered to your inbox. You can unsubscribe at any time and we'll never share your details to third parties.

More information Privacy policy

Donate and enjoy an ad-free experience

We keep our content available to everyone. Consider supporting Science X's mission by getting a premium account.

E-mail newsletter

Brevard's News in 90: SpaceX launch tonight, kidnapping charge and fatal crash

Support local journalism. Unlock unlimited digital access to floridatoday.com

Looking for the stories included on today's News in 90 Seconds? Click the links below:

Upcoming SpaceX launch: Starlink mission may lift off Monday night from Cape Canaveral

Four women arrested, charged with kidnapping child, beating Melbourne mother

Satellite Beach woman killed in two-car collision, Florida Highway Patrol reports

Rob Landers  is a veteran multimedia journalist for the USA Today Network of Florida. Contact Landers at 321-242-3627 or  [email protected] . Instagram:  @ByRobLanders   Youtube :  @florida_today

Support local journalism. Subscribe today.

Watch the Full Pink Moon 2024 bloom in the night sky tonight

Look to the east just after sunset to see the moon begin to cross the sky.

The Full Pink Moon of 2024 rises tonight.

Look to the east shortly after sunset to see the full moon rise above the horizon. The moon will be in the Virgo constellation , and will have most of the night to enjoy the night sky by itself while the planets are situated on the other side of Earth. That's great news for skywatchers because the full moon's brightness makes spotting other cosmic targets quite difficult when they are indeed above us; tonight, however, those targets won't even be an option. It's a night to focus solely on the moon.

The exact time of the full moon, which will take shape when the moon is exactly 180 degrees opposite the sun in the sky, will occur around 7:49 pm. EDT (2349 GMT). Still, the moon will appear "full" to the unaided eye throughout the whole night. It will set in the west shortly before 7 a.m. local time.

Related: April full moon 2024: The Pink Moon joins Mars and Saturn in the night sky Read more: Full moon calendar 2023: When to see the next full moon

Looking for a telescope to observe the features of the full moon up close? We recommend the  Celestron Astro Fi 102  as the top pick in our  best beginner's telescope guide . Don't forget a  moon filter !

Saturn and Mars will rise in the east around two hours prior to sunrise, although they will be just a few degrees above the horizon — making finding them a tricky feat for some locations.

Unfortunately, the peak of the Lyrid meteor shower also happens to coincide with the full moon this year, making this a bad year for Lyrid-lovers . When moonwatching, you might be able to catch sight of a bright Lyrid or two, but don't expect much. Even on a good day, this isn't the most productive meteor shower to begin with.

The name of April's Full Pink Moon is believed to come a pink flower known as the ground phlox, which commonly blooms in North America around this time. Other names for the celestial event include the Sprouting Grass Moon, Egg Moon and Fish Moon.

Get the Space.com Newsletter

Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!

Hoping to snap a good photo of the Full Pink Moon or the lunar surface at any other time? Our guide on  how to photograph the moon  is always helpful if you need a few tips. And you're looking for a camera, here's our overview on the  best cameras for astrophotography  and  best lenses for astrophotography . 

As always, our guides for the  best telescopes  and  best binoculars  can help you prepare for the next full moon or any other skywatching event.

Editor's note:   If you get an amazing photo of April's Full Pink Moon you'd like to share for a possible story or image gallery, you can send images and comments in to  [email protected] .

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: [email protected].

Brett is curious about emerging aerospace technologies, alternative launch concepts, military space developments and uncrewed aircraft systems. Brett's work has appeared on Scientific American, The War Zone, Popular Science, the History Channel, Science Discovery and more. Brett has English degrees from Clemson University and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. In his free time, Brett enjoys skywatching throughout the dark skies of the Appalachian mountains.

April full moon has us tickled pink in these gorgeous photos

The Lyrid meteor shower peaks this weekend, but don't expect much this year

Watch 2 cosmonauts conduct spacewalk outside the ISS today

Most Popular

• 2 Buried in the Cat's Paw Nebula lies one of the largest space molecules ever seen
• 3 Netflix releases official trailer for Jennifer Lopez mech combat sci-fi film 'Atlas' (video)
• 4 Ancient rocks hold proof of Earth's magnetic field. Here's why that's puzzling
• 5 Hubble telescope celebrates 34th anniversary with an iridescent Dumbbell Nebula (image)

MUSIC RELEASES

• JACKETS + SWEATSUITS
• ACCESSORIES
• SUBMIT FOR TUNE REACTOR

• Previous slide

420 LONG SLEEVE

HATS & ACCESSORIES

Subscribe for early access to upcoming events and drops

Get first dibs on literally everything before the public does

• Choosing a selection results in a full page refresh.
• Press the space key then arrow keys to make a selection.
• Use left/right arrows to navigate the slideshow or swipe left/right if using a mobile device