Is the long launch drought over? Looks like it might be!
Currently on the Space Coast launch schedule (per spaceflightnow.com) is SpaceX’s Starlink 1 launch, slated for Monday, November 11th at approximately 10 AM EST, launching from SLC-40 in Cape Canaveral AFS. Good viewing spots for that pad include KSCVC’s Apollo/Saturn V Center (if available), the Max Brewer Bridge, and any of the parks along U.S. 1 in Titusville. For the best view of landing (if there is a landing?) you’ll want to try Jetty Park or perhaps SR-401 – though the latter is iffy, nowadays; parking is far more restricted, and the area is often reserved for SpaceX use. Spaceflight Now is also showing a prospective launch for Starlink 2, also from SLC-40, as “TBD” for the month of November. Stay tuned for more details on that.
December is shaping up to be potentially much busier, with SpaceX’s CRS-19 cargo mission to the ISS currently slated for Wednesday, December 4th at 12:48 pm EST, and SpaceX’s JCSAT 18/Kacific 1 listed for Sunday, December 15th at 7:10 pm EST. Also on the schedule is ULA/Boeing’s CST-100 Orbital Flight Test on Tuesday, December 17th at 7:45 am, in which a ULA Atlas 5 rocket will launch Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner on an unpiloted test flight to the ISS. Also listed as “TBD” possibilities are SpaceX Starlink 3 and 4 launches, and – this is a very big deal! – SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Demo 2, which (when it happens) will be the first crewed launch from American soil since Shuttle days. Note that all launches are subject to change, and the CST-100 and Crew Dragon launches particularly so… don’t make travel plans just yet!
Stay tuned to this site and all the usual information outlets for further news on any/all of these, and check out Launch Rat Jared-Base’s Beginners Guide to SpaceX site at spacex-guide.weebly.com for more info on those SpaceX launches!