Falcon 9 Block 5 USSF-31 — launch date, time, visibility & where to look

Classified US Space Force carrying two payloads directly to geostationary orbit.

Falcon 9 Block 5 on the pad
Rocket
Falcon 9 Block 5
Provider
SpaceX
Launch site
Cape Canaveral SFS, 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 Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA (liftoff is still beyond the 7-day forecast window):

  • Today 59% cloud 35% rain
  • Mon 68% cloud 32% rain
  • Tue 100% cloud 36% rain
  • Wed 81% cloud 18% rain
  • Thu 98% cloud 40% rain
  • Fri 87% cloud 32% rain
  • Sat 100% cloud 24% 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 Falcon 9 Block 5 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 — 52 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Orlando Tampa, FL — 123 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Tampa Jacksonville, FL — 146 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Jacksonville Miami, FL — 188 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Miami Melbourne, FL — 27 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Melbourne Daytona Beach, FL — 60 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Daytona Beach Vero Beach, FL — 57 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Vero Beach Fort Pierce, FL — 71 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Fort Pierce Port St. Lucie, FL — 83 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Port St. Lucie West Palm Beach, FL — 124 mi from the pad · excellent view expected West Palm Beach Fort Lauderdale, FL — 163 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Fort Lauderdale St. Augustine, FL — 110 mi from the pad · excellent view expected St. Augustine Unknown Pad
Falcon 9 Block 5 | USSF-31 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
Port Canaveral, FL Excellent east-northeast 6 mi
Cocoa Beach, FL Excellent north-northeast 11 mi
Merritt Island, FL Excellent northeast 12 mi
Rockledge, FL Excellent east-northeast 15 mi
Satellite Beach, FL Excellent north 20 mi
Titusville, FL Excellent east-southeast 20 mi
Mims, FL Excellent southeast 24 mi
Indialantic, FL Excellent north 26 mi
Melbourne, FL Excellent north 27 mi
Palm Bay, FL Excellent north 30 mi
Show all 94 cities
CityVisibilityLook towardDistance to pad
Sebastian, FL Excellent north 44 mi
New Smyrna Beach, FL Excellent south-southeast 46 mi
Sanford, FL Excellent east-southeast 51 mi
Orlando, FL Excellent east 52 mi
Kissimmee, FL Excellent east-northeast 55 mi
Vero Beach, FL Excellent north 57 mi
Daytona Beach, FL Excellent south-southeast 60 mi
Fort Pierce, FL Excellent north 71 mi
Port St. Lucie, FL Excellent north 83 mi
Palm Coast, FL Excellent south-southeast 88 mi
Lakeland, FL Excellent east-northeast 91 mi
St. Augustine, FL Excellent south-southeast 110 mi
Tampa, FL Excellent east-northeast 123 mi
West Palm Beach, FL Excellent north-northwest 124 mi
Gainesville, FL Excellent southeast 136 mi
Jacksonville, FL Excellent south-southeast 146 mi
Fort Lauderdale, FL Excellent north 163 mi
Miami, FL Excellent north 188 mi
Brunswick, GA Good south-southeast 195 mi
Valdosta, GA Good southeast 233 mi
Savannah, GA Good south 252 mi
Hilton Head Island, SC Good south 260 mi
Tallahassee, FL Good east-southeast 264 mi
Charleston, SC Good south 301 mi
Myrtle Beach, SC Fair south-southwest 374 mi
Pensacola Beach, FL Fair east-southeast 418 mi
Gulf Shores, AL Fair east-southeast 449 mi
Norfolk, VA Marginal south-southwest 630 mi
Virginia Beach, VA Marginal south-southwest 637 mi
Newport News, VA Marginal south-southwest 641 mi
Richmond, VA Marginal south 652 mi
Cape Charles, VA Marginal south-southwest 662 mi
Exmore, VA Marginal south-southwest 683 mi
Onancock, VA Marginal south-southwest 696 mi
Wallops Island, VA Marginal south-southwest 714 mi
Chincoteague, VA Marginal south-southwest 719 mi
Grand Isle, LA Not visible — 576 mi
Pocomoke City, MD Not visible — 723 mi
Salisbury, MD Not visible — 741 mi
Berlin, MD Not visible — 747 mi
Washington, DC Not visible — 749 mi
Ocean City, MD Not visible — 751 mi
Annapolis, MD Not visible — 763 mi
Rehoboth Beach, DE Not visible — 775 mi
Baltimore, MD Not visible — 781 mi
Cape May, NJ Not visible — 793 mi
Dover, DE Not visible — 793 mi
Ocean City, NJ Not visible — 822 mi
Philadelphia, PA Not visible — 851 mi
Rockport, TX Not visible — 1005 mi
Port Aransas, TX Not visible — 1007 mi
Corpus Christi, TX Not visible — 1028 mi
South Padre Island, TX Not visible — 1034 mi
Port Isabel, TX Not visible — 1037 mi
Laguna Vista, TX Not visible — 1041 mi
Bayview, TX Not visible — 1048 mi
Los Fresnos, TX Not visible — 1053 mi
Brownsville, TX Not visible — 1057 mi
Harlingen, TX Not visible — 1065 mi
McAllen, TX Not visible — 1097 mi
Laredo, TX Not visible — 1159 mi
San Diego, CA Not visible — 2188 mi
Pasadena, CA Not visible — 2242 mi
Mojave, CA Not visible — 2244 mi
Long Beach, CA Not visible — 2245 mi
Los Angeles, CA Not visible — 2248 mi
Malibu, CA Not visible — 2274 mi
Thousand Oaks, CA Not visible — 2282 mi
Bakersfield, CA Not visible — 2293 mi
Oxnard, CA Not visible — 2302 mi
Ventura, CA Not visible — 2308 mi
Santa Barbara, CA Not visible — 2331 mi
Fresno, CA Not visible — 2337 mi
Solvang, CA Not visible — 2356 mi
Buellton, CA Not visible — 2359 mi
Los Alamos, CA Not visible — 2363 mi
Santa Maria, CA Not visible — 2372 mi
Orcutt, CA Not visible — 2373 mi
Lompoc, CA Not visible — 2374 mi
Vandenberg Village, CA Not visible — 2375 mi
Guadalupe, CA Not visible — 2380 mi
Pismo Beach, CA Not visible — 2384 mi
San Luis Obispo, CA Not visible — 2385 mi
San Jose, CA Not visible — 2456 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° 35° T+10s T+5m 10s
From Port Canaveral, FL: rises T+10s in the ENE, peaks 35°.
10° 35° T+10s T+5m 10s NE
From Cocoa Beach, FL: rises T+10s in the NNE, peaks 35°.
10° 33° T+10s T+5m 10s
From Merritt Island, FL: rises T+10s in the NE, peaks 33°.

More from SpaceX ↗

Before you go

Falcon 9 Block 5 USSF-31 launch FAQ

When is the Falcon 9 Block 5 USSF-31 launch date and time?

Falcon 9 Block 5 USSF-31 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 Falcon 9 Block 5 USSF-31 launch from?

From Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA, operated by SpaceX. 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 Falcon 9 Block 5 USSF-31 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.