Falcon 9 Block 5 | BlueBird Block 2 #3 β visibility, launch time & where to look
AST SpaceMobileβs Block 2 BlueBird satellites are designed to deliver up to 10 times the bandwidth capacity of the BlueBird Block 1 satellites, required to achieve 24/7 continuous cellular broadband service coverage in the United States, with beams designed to support a capacity of up to 40 MHz, enabling peak data transmission speeds up to 120 Mbps, supporting voice, full data and video applications. The Block 2 BlueBirds, featuring as large as 2400 square foot communications arrays, will be the largest satellites ever commercially deployed in Low Earth orbit once launched. This launch will feature 3 satellites.
Launch time
- Jun 30, 2026, 12:00 AM UTC
- Jun 29, 2026, 8:00 PM Eastern
- Jun 29, 2026, 5:00 PM Pacific
This launch time is not yet confirmed. Rocket launches often slip by hours or days for weather, technical checks, or range scheduling β treat the time above as a target and re-check close to the date.
Which cities can see this launch?
Estimated visibility from major towns near US launch sites, assuming clear skies and an open horizon:
| City | Visibility | Look toward | Distance to pad |
|---|---|---|---|
| Port Canaveral, FL | Excellent | north-northeast | 11 mi |
| Titusville, FL | Excellent | east-southeast | 15 mi |
| Merritt Island, FL | Excellent | north-northeast | 16 mi |
| Cocoa Beach, FL | Excellent | north | 17 mi |
| Mims, FL | Excellent | east-southeast | 17 mi |
| Rockledge, FL | Excellent | north-northeast | 18 mi |
| Satellite Beach, FL | Excellent | north | 26 mi |
| Indialantic, FL | Excellent | north | 33 mi |
| Melbourne, FL | Excellent | north | 33 mi |
| Palm Bay, FL | Excellent | north | 37 mi |
| New Smyrna Beach, FL | Excellent | south-southeast | 39 mi |
| Sanford, FL | Excellent | east-southeast | 45 mi |
| Orlando, FL | Excellent | east | 49 mi |
| Sebastian, FL | Excellent | north | 52 mi |
| Daytona Beach, FL | Excellent | south-southeast | 52 mi |
| Kissimmee, FL | Excellent | east-northeast | 54 mi |
| Vero Beach, FL | Excellent | north | 65 mi |
| Fort Pierce, FL | Excellent | north | 78 mi |
| Palm Coast, FL | Excellent | south-southeast | 80 mi |
| Port St. Lucie, FL | Good | north | 90 mi |
| Lakeland, FL | Good | east-northeast | 91 mi |
| St. Augustine, FL | Good | south-southeast | 102 mi |
| Tampa, FL | Good | east-northeast | 122 mi |
| Gainesville, FL | Good | southeast | 129 mi |
| West Palm Beach, FL | Good | north-northwest | 132 mi |
| Jacksonville, FL | Good | south-southeast | 138 mi |
| Fort Lauderdale, FL | Good | north | 171 mi |
| Brunswick, GA | Good | south-southeast | 187 mi |
| Miami, FL | Good | north | 195 mi |
| Valdosta, GA | Fair | southeast | 226 mi |
| Savannah, GA | Good | south | 245 mi |
| Hilton Head Island, SC | Good | south | 253 mi |
| Tallahassee, FL | Fair | east-southeast | 258 mi |
| Charleston, SC | Good | south | 294 mi |
| Myrtle Beach, SC | Good | south-southwest | 368 mi |
| Pensacola Beach, FL | Marginal | east-southeast | 413 mi |
| Gulf Shores, AL | Marginal | east | 444 mi |
| Norfolk, VA | Fair | south-southwest | 624 mi |
| Virginia Beach, VA | Fair | south-southwest | 632 mi |
| Newport News, VA | Fair | south-southwest | 635 mi |
| Richmond, VA | Fair | south-southwest | 646 mi |
| Cape Charles, VA | Fair | south-southwest | 657 mi |
| Exmore, VA | Fair | south-southwest | 678 mi |
| Onancock, VA | Fair | south-southwest | 691 mi |
| Wallops Island, VA | Fair | south-southwest | 709 mi |
| Chincoteague, VA | Fair | south-southwest | 713 mi |
| Pocomoke City, MD | Fair | south-southwest | 717 mi |
| Salisbury, MD | Fair | south-southwest | 735 mi |
| Berlin, MD | Fair | south-southwest | 741 mi |
| Washington, DC | Marginal | south-southwest | 743 mi |
| Ocean City, MD | Fair | south-southwest | 746 mi |
| Annapolis, MD | Fair | south-southwest | 757 mi |
| Rehoboth Beach, DE | Fair | south-southwest | 769 mi |
| Baltimore, MD | Marginal | south-southwest | 775 mi |
| Cape May, NJ | Fair | south-southwest | 787 mi |
| Dover, DE | Fair | south-southwest | 787 mi |
| Ocean City, NJ | Fair | south-southwest | 816 mi |
| Philadelphia, PA | Fair | south-southwest | 845 mi |
| Grand Isle, LA | Not visible | β | 572 mi |
| Rockport, TX | Not visible | β | 1002 mi |
| Port Aransas, TX | Not visible | β | 1004 mi |
| Corpus Christi, TX | Not visible | β | 1025 mi |
| South Padre Island, TX | Not visible | β | 1032 mi |
| Port Isabel, TX | Not visible | β | 1035 mi |
| Laguna Vista, TX | Not visible | β | 1039 mi |
| Bayview, TX | Not visible | β | 1046 mi |
| Los Fresnos, TX | Not visible | β | 1051 mi |
| Brownsville, TX | Not visible | β | 1055 mi |
| Harlingen, TX | Not visible | β | 1062 mi |
| McAllen, TX | Not visible | β | 1094 mi |
| Laredo, TX | Not visible | β | 1156 mi |
| San Diego, CA | Not visible | β | 2183 mi |
| Pasadena, CA | Not visible | β | 2237 mi |
| Mojave, CA | Not visible | β | 2239 mi |
| Long Beach, CA | Not visible | β | 2240 mi |
| Los Angeles, CA | Not visible | β | 2243 mi |
| Malibu, CA | Not visible | β | 2268 mi |
| Thousand Oaks, CA | Not visible | β | 2277 mi |
| Bakersfield, CA | Not visible | β | 2287 mi |
| Oxnard, CA | Not visible | β | 2296 mi |
| Ventura, CA | Not visible | β | 2303 mi |
| Santa Barbara, CA | Not visible | β | 2326 mi |
| Fresno, CA | Not visible | β | 2332 mi |
| Solvang, CA | Not visible | β | 2351 mi |
| Buellton, CA | Not visible | β | 2353 mi |
| Los Alamos, CA | Not visible | β | 2358 mi |
| Santa Maria, CA | Not visible | β | 2367 mi |
| Orcutt, CA | Not visible | β | 2367 mi |
| Lompoc, CA | Not visible | β | 2369 mi |
| Vandenberg Village, CA | Not visible | β | 2369 mi |
| Guadalupe, CA | Not visible | β | 2375 mi |
| Pismo Beach, CA | Not visible | β | 2378 mi |
| San Luis Obispo, CA | Not visible | β | 2380 mi |
| San Jose, CA | Not visible | β | 2450 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.
Before you go
- Launch times change β scrubs and delays are common. Re-check the day of.
- Clear skies matter. Low cloud near the pad or along the trajectory can hide the rocket.
- Twilight launches are the most dramatic; daytime launches are the hardest to see at distance.
- Trajectory and timing here are estimates from a representative ascent profile.
More upcoming launches
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- Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 17-37 β In 3 days
- Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 10-53 β In 6 days
- Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 17-41 β In 7 days
- Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 17-47 β In 10 days
- Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 10-43 β In 11 days
- Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 17-44 β In 3 weeks
- Falcon 9 Block 5 | Globalstar 2-R Mission 1 (x 9) β In 5 weeks
Launch data from TheSpaceDevs Launch Library 2. Page generated May 23, 2026.