A 2024 Update I suppose

2024 is already off to a roaring start here at the Cape, having seen Vulcan debut earlier this week, the Axiom mission within the week, the upcoming flight of the Intuitive Machines CLPS lander, the return of Cygnus CRS missions, and more!

A great deal of those flights will be SpaceX RTLS missions, where the rocket lands back at the Cape as well, rather than downrange on a droneship, promising a great view no matter where you choose to watch from!

This year also saw us formally lay the site’s founder, WaywardPlane, to rest, and promises to be another year entirely comprised of job hunting on my end, as neither this site nor my photography pay the bills, but rather than dwell on that, let’s jump right in with Axiom-3!

Axiom-3

Axiom-3 will be Axiom Space’s third privately-operated flight of astronauts to the International Space Station, aboard Falcon 9 and Dragon. As if flying astronauts weren’t enough of a draw to visit, minor optimisations to Falcon 9’s performance have since allowed for Crew Dragon missions like this to perform RTLS landings, returning the booster to the Cape, rather than landing it downrange on a droneship! It’s currently scheduled for 5:11 PM on January 17th.

Paid Options

• The Kennedy Space Center Visitors’ Complex will be hosting viewing for this launch, with main center viewing included with admission, and a $70 addon to watch from the Saturn V Center, about four miles from the launchpad. Your view of the landing zones from here is partway obscured by the VAB, and your view from the main center obstructed by the treeline for liftoff and landing, but for a viewing site with more amenities than most (dining, restrooms, air conditioned spaces, live commentary and up-to-date information), that’s an understandable tradeoff, especially if you were already planning to make a stop at the Visitors Center on your trip.
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• Star*Fleet Tours is arranging a viewing charter to watch the launches and landings from the ocean, aboard as many boats as interest allows them to fill! For RTLS missions like this, they offer perhaps the best view you’ll get of landing, and a unique perspective on launch itself! Reach out to them on twitter, facebook, their website, or by phone (listed on their website) if this interests you!
  UPDATE: You can now purchase tickets directly through their website.
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• Jetty Park ($15/car) and Playalinda Beach ($25/car) should both be open, as this is within their winter hours. Jetty Park will have the best view of landing, and Playalinda the best view of launch itself. If planning to view from either of these parks, you have to purchase your admission to Jetty Park online ahead of time, and Playalinda no longer takes cash (card only).

Free Options

Axiom-3 being a daytime launch, you’re spoiled for choice here, all the beach accesses in Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral should be open, all the parks along US 1 from Cocoa to Titusville as well, and no doubt plenty of waterfront restaurants if you’re interested in dinner and a show! (Though whether that counts as “free viewing” is… debatable)

A note, though. There have been some places around Port Canaveral marked as “Rocket Launch Viewing” in the past, especially along the road to the CCSFS south gate and the Sands museum. Those are not accessible anymore, at the tail end of last year Space Launch Delta 45 announced the closure of the south gate viewing area, due to safety concerns for pedestrians crossing the busy road. For years, LaunchRats omitted this viewing area from our recommendations due to those hazards (and its limited capacity), especially after the chaos of the original Falcon Heavy demo, so this doesn’t come as much of a surprise, but now that it’s officially off-limits, even more than it was already, it’s worth mentioning.

As far as general viewing from public places goes, if you want the best view of the launch, watch from along the river on US1. The further north towards Titusville you get, the closer you are, but it’s not going to have that big of an impact. As long as you’re on the waterfront, you’ll see at least a little bit of the launchpad poking up on the horizon. If you want the best view of the landing, Port Canaveral, Cape Canaveral, and Cocoa Beach will have you sorted. There’s plenty of public beach accesses once you get south of Central Ave in Cape Canaveral, running as far south as you’re willing to go, plus beachfront parks like Cherie Down, Shepard, and Lori Wilson. Again, the further north you’re willing to go, the closer you’ll be, but there is a point where you’re close enough to have a good time, and being here at all is well past it.

Other SpaceX RTLS Missions

CRS NG-20, Intuitive Machines’ IM-1, and Crew-8 all appear to be daytime RTLS missions, so a majority of the above information should still apply for the free viewing areas, and for Jetty Park/Playalinda Beach. When we get closer to each launch, be sure to check the Kennedy Space Center’s website and twitter, and Star*Fleet’s twitter to see if they’re offering paid viewing excursions for these as well, that’s the only specific information that should change from the above. I’ll do my best to update the space below with anything that shows up regarding either.

NASA’s PACE mission appears to be the only upcoming RTLS without a potential launch time listed, and if it turns out to be outside of daylight hours, I’ll add to the post as well with what’s best for viewing it.

Other SpaceX Launches

Aside from Vulcan this past Monday, there’s not much else flying from the Cape that isn’t SpaceX until something like March. And even then, it’s mostly Starlinks, a solid 90% of which will probably fly at night, as seems to always be the case. I’m surprised the starlink this past Sunday went before sunset, but they were trying to beat the bad weather and clear the range before Vulcan took it over, I imagine.

For a night starlink, any of the public parks along US1 in Titusville should be decent, providing they’re open. Consult the Brevard County Parks Directory to be certain that a given park will remain open for launches, though typically Space View, Rotary Riverfront, Kirk Point, Kennedy Point, and Manzo generally will. Space View is of course, the most popular of these locations, being right in downtown Titusville a short walk from our small downtown.

Closing Matters

It’s been just over six years since LaunchRats was inaugurated (January 9th, 2018), and now nearly three since its founder passed. It’s harrowing to think that I’ve been its custodian for almost as long as I haven’t been. I feel like I’m an awful parent, aha, but I do what I can to keep things ticking here, pay the hosting, write updated viewing guides, answer emails. I have plans, but they keep getting pushed down the road due to my financial situation. One of you reached out to a developer to try and put me in touch last time i gave mention to this, but I’ve already got someone on retainer, a longtime friend of mine through the same community I met Wayward, I’m just waiting ’til I can actually, y’know, pay them for the work.

Seeing as this website is aimed at tourists visiting the space coast, rather than those living on it who already know all the tips and tricks, plus all the secret locals-only spots we don’t talk about here, I dont imagine this’ll go anywhere. But if you do happen to know of job openings in the area (in Titusville specifically, I can’t drive and am dependent on cycling/our very limited public transit), there’s only so many times I can comb through Indeed and go into every place with a hiring sign out front on my bike ride before I’ve exhausted all my options.

If you want to help me keep this going otherwise, help keep the lights on and the cat fed (and the writer fed), there’s my personal Patreon, there’s purchasing photos from my gallery site (at least until May, when I have to reup that subscription and don’t have the money to keep with the ecommerce plan), and there are the other forms of direct support listed elsewhere on the site.

Safe travels and happy launching,
Lupi
launchrats.com