Astra Rocket 4 Maiden Flight — launch date, time, visibility & where to look

First flight of Astra Space's second generation small satellite launch vehicle.

Astra Rocket 4 on the pad
Rocket
Astra Rocket 4
Provider
Astra Space
Launch site
Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
Status
To Be Determined

Countdown to liftoff

Targeting December 2026 — the exact date and time are not set yet. Launch dates firm up close to the attempt; set a free alert below to get the final time.

Launch time

This launch time is not yet confirmed. Rocket launches often slip by hours or days for weather, technical checks, or range scheduling; treat the time above as a target and re-check close to the date.

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Sky outlook at the pad

Daily cloud cover and rain chance at Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA (liftoff is still beyond the 7-day forecast window):

  • Today 64% cloud 31% rain
  • Mon 68% cloud 28% rain
  • Tue 94% cloud 35% rain
  • Wed 76% cloud 22% rain
  • Thu 94% cloud 40% rain
  • Fri 85% cloud 33% rain
  • Sat 100% cloud 25% rain

Forecast at the launch site; check your own sky too: cloud over you can hide a launch the pad forecast says is clear.

Pro members get the 7-day outlook for their own saved locations + a weather go/no-go call. Pro · $19.99/yr

Visibility map: how far away can you see it?

Each ring shows how far away Astra Rocket 4 is line-of-sight visible that many seconds into flight: about 89 miles by T+30s, 192 miles by T+60s, and roughly 305 miles by T+90s. City dots are colored by the expected view quality; the table below has the direction to look from each.

N ↑ T+90s T+75s T+60s T+45s T+30s T+15s Orlando, FL — 47 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Orlando Tampa, FL — 121 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Tampa Jacksonville, FL — 135 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Jacksonville Miami, FL — 198 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Miami Melbourne, FL — 36 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Melbourne Daytona Beach, FL — 49 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Daytona Beach Vero Beach, FL — 67 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Vero Beach Fort Pierce, FL — 81 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Fort Pierce Port St. Lucie, FL — 93 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Port St. Lucie West Palm Beach, FL — 135 mi from the pad · excellent view expected West Palm Beach Fort Lauderdale, FL — 174 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Fort Lauderdale St. Augustine, FL — 99 mi from the pad · excellent view expected St. Augustine Launch Complex 48
Astra Rocket 4 | Maiden Flight visibility range: each ring marks how far away the rocket is above the horizon that many seconds after liftoff, out to about 305 miles at T+90s. Rings are line-of-sight geometry from a representative ascent profile, centered on the pad — the rocket also travels downrange, stretching views along its track, and night launches are often visible well beyond the outer ring. Assumes clear skies and an open horizon.

Which cities can see this launch?

Estimated visibility from major towns near US launch sites, assuming clear skies and an open horizon. The 10 most likely first:

CityVisibilityLook towardDistance to pad
Titusville, FL Excellent east 13 mi
Port Canaveral, FL Excellent north 13 mi
Mims, FL Excellent east-southeast 15 mi
Merritt Island, FL Excellent north-northeast 17 mi
Cocoa Beach, FL Excellent north 19 mi
Rockledge, FL Excellent north-northeast 19 mi
Satellite Beach, FL Excellent north 29 mi
Indialantic, FL Excellent north 35 mi
New Smyrna Beach, FL Excellent south-southeast 36 mi
Melbourne, FL Excellent north 36 mi
Show all 94 cities
CityVisibilityLook towardDistance to pad
Palm Bay, FL Excellent north 39 mi
Sanford, FL Excellent east-southeast 43 mi
Orlando, FL Excellent east 47 mi
Daytona Beach, FL Excellent south-southeast 49 mi
Kissimmee, FL Excellent east-northeast 53 mi
Sebastian, FL Excellent north 54 mi
Vero Beach, FL Excellent north 67 mi
Palm Coast, FL Excellent south-southeast 77 mi
Fort Pierce, FL Excellent north-northwest 81 mi
Lakeland, FL Excellent east-northeast 91 mi
Port St. Lucie, FL Excellent north 93 mi
St. Augustine, FL Excellent south-southeast 99 mi
Tampa, FL Excellent east-northeast 121 mi
Gainesville, FL Excellent southeast 126 mi
West Palm Beach, FL Excellent north-northwest 135 mi
Jacksonville, FL Excellent south-southeast 135 mi
Fort Lauderdale, FL Excellent north 174 mi
Brunswick, GA Good south-southeast 184 mi
Miami, FL Excellent north 198 mi
Valdosta, GA Excellent southeast 223 mi
Savannah, GA Good south 242 mi
Hilton Head Island, SC Good south 250 mi
Tallahassee, FL Good east-southeast 255 mi
Charleston, SC Good south 292 mi
Myrtle Beach, SC Good south-southwest 366 mi
Pensacola Beach, FL Fair east-southeast 411 mi
Gulf Shores, AL Fair east 442 mi
Norfolk, VA Good south-southwest 623 mi
Virginia Beach, VA Good south-southwest 630 mi
Newport News, VA Good south-southwest 634 mi
Richmond, VA Good south-southwest 644 mi
Cape Charles, VA Good south-southwest 655 mi
Exmore, VA Good south-southwest 676 mi
Onancock, VA Good south-southwest 689 mi
Wallops Island, VA Good south-southwest 707 mi
Chincoteague, VA Good south-southwest 712 mi
Pocomoke City, MD Good south-southwest 716 mi
Salisbury, MD Good south-southwest 733 mi
Berlin, MD Good south-southwest 740 mi
Washington, DC Fair south-southwest 741 mi
Ocean City, MD Good south-southwest 744 mi
Annapolis, MD Good south-southwest 755 mi
Rehoboth Beach, DE Good south-southwest 768 mi
Baltimore, MD Fair south-southwest 773 mi
Cape May, NJ Good south-southwest 785 mi
Dover, DE Good south-southwest 785 mi
Ocean City, NJ Good south-southwest 815 mi
Philadelphia, PA Good south-southwest 843 mi
Grand Isle, LA Not visible — 570 mi
Rockport, TX Not visible — 1000 mi
Port Aransas, TX Not visible — 1003 mi
Corpus Christi, TX Not visible — 1023 mi
South Padre Island, TX Not visible — 1030 mi
Port Isabel, TX Not visible — 1033 mi
Laguna Vista, TX Not visible — 1038 mi
Bayview, TX Not visible — 1044 mi
Los Fresnos, TX Not visible — 1050 mi
Brownsville, TX Not visible — 1054 mi
Harlingen, TX Not visible — 1061 mi
McAllen, TX Not visible — 1093 mi
Laredo, TX Not visible — 1154 mi
San Diego, CA Not visible — 2181 mi
Pasadena, CA Not visible — 2235 mi
Mojave, CA Not visible — 2236 mi
Long Beach, CA Not visible — 2238 mi
Los Angeles, CA Not visible — 2240 mi
Malibu, CA Not visible — 2266 mi
Thousand Oaks, CA Not visible — 2275 mi
Bakersfield, CA Not visible — 2285 mi
Oxnard, CA Not visible — 2294 mi
Ventura, CA Not visible — 2300 mi
Santa Barbara, CA Not visible — 2323 mi
Fresno, CA Not visible — 2329 mi
Solvang, CA Not visible — 2348 mi
Buellton, CA Not visible — 2351 mi
Los Alamos, CA Not visible — 2355 mi
Santa Maria, CA Not visible — 2364 mi
Orcutt, CA Not visible — 2365 mi
Lompoc, CA Not visible — 2366 mi
Vandenberg Village, CA Not visible — 2367 mi
Guadalupe, CA Not visible — 2372 mi
Pismo Beach, CA Not visible — 2376 mi
San Luis Obispo, CA Not visible — 2377 mi
San Jose, CA Not visible — 2448 mi

Where to look

A rocket lifts off below the horizon for distant viewers, then climbs into view as it gains altitude and flies downrange. Closer to the pad you'll see it within seconds; a few hundred miles away it can take three to six minutes to rise over the horizon. Find an open view in the direction shown for your city and start watching at liftoff.

10° 34° T+10s T+5m 10s NE E
From Titusville, FL: rises T+10s in the E, peaks 34°.
10° 33° T+10s T+5m 10s
From Port Canaveral, FL: rises T+10s in the N, peaks 33°.
10° 34° T+10s T+5m 10s NE E
From Mims, FL: rises T+10s in the ESE, peaks 34°.

More from Astra Space ↗

Before you go

Astra Rocket 4 Maiden Flight launch FAQ

When is the Astra Rocket 4 Maiden Flight launch date and time?

Astra Rocket 4 Maiden Flight is currently targeting Dec 31, 2026, 12:00 AM UTC / Dec 30, 2026, 7:00 PM Eastern / Dec 30, 2026, 4:00 PM Pacific. Status: To Be Determined. Launch dates slip often; the countdown on this page tracks the latest target, or set a free alert to get the final time.

Where does Astra Rocket 4 Maiden Flight launch from?

From Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA, operated by Astra Space. If you are within a few hundred miles, the city-by-city table on this page shows the expected view from your area and which direction to look.

How far away can you see the Astra Rocket 4 Maiden Flight launch?

Roughly 305 miles with clear skies: within about 89 miles of the pad the rocket clears the horizon in the first half-minute, and by T+90 seconds it is high enough to be line-of-sight visible around 305 miles away. Night launches can be visible even farther as the exhaust plume catches sunlight. The visibility map on this page shows the range rings and which cities fall inside them.

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Launch data from TheSpaceDevs Launch Library 2. Page generated August 30, 2026.