Gaganyaan Abort Test Booster TV-D2 — launch date, time, visibility & where to look
The second inflight abort test of the Gaganyaan program.
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
- Dec 31, 2026, 12:00 AM UTC
- Dec 30, 2026, 7:00 PM Eastern
- Dec 30, 2026, 4:00 PM Pacific
This launch time is not yet confirmed. Rocket launches often slip by hours or days for weather, technical checks, or range scheduling; 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 Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India (liftoff is still beyond the 7-day forecast window):
- Today
- Mon
- Tue
- Wed
- Thu
- Fri
- Sat
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
Space-jellyfish watch: Medium chance
This is a dawn twilight launch, the setup for the glowing “space jellyfish” plume that makes the news. Watch T+4–5 min after liftoff, when the exhaust climbs out of Earth’s shadow into sunlight.
Decent jellyfish chance: a pre-dawn twilight launch with the plume sunlit around T+4–5 min — but the plume spends only part of its expansion phase in sunlight. Worth watching. (Launch date not yet confirmed — this assessment will shift if the time changes.)
New to the phenomenon? What a space jellyfish is, and how we predict it →
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Visibility map: how far away can you see it?
Each ring shows how far away Gaganyaan Abort Test Booster 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.
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:
| City | Visibility | Look toward | Distance to pad |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia, PA | Not visible | — | 8405 mi |
| Ocean City, NJ | Not visible | — | 8430 mi |
| Cape May, NJ | Not visible | — | 8460 mi |
| Dover, DE | Not visible | — | 8462 mi |
| Rehoboth Beach, DE | Not visible | — | 8477 mi |
| Baltimore, MD | Not visible | — | 8481 mi |
| Annapolis, MD | Not visible | — | 8497 mi |
| Ocean City, MD | Not visible | — | 8500 mi |
| Berlin, MD | Not visible | — | 8505 mi |
| Salisbury, MD | Not visible | — | 8513 mi |
Show all 94 cities
| City | Visibility | Look toward | Distance to pad |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington, DC | Not visible | — | 8515 mi |
| Pocomoke City, MD | Not visible | — | 8530 mi |
| Chincoteague, VA | Not visible | — | 8533 mi |
| Wallops Island, VA | Not visible | — | 8538 mi |
| Onancock, VA | Not visible | — | 8556 mi |
| Exmore, VA | Not visible | — | 8569 mi |
| Cape Charles, VA | Not visible | — | 8590 mi |
| Richmond, VA | Not visible | — | 8609 mi |
| Newport News, VA | Not visible | — | 8613 mi |
| Virginia Beach, VA | Not visible | — | 8614 mi |
| Norfolk, VA | Not visible | — | 8623 mi |
| San Jose, CA | Not visible | — | 8627 mi |
| Fresno, CA | Not visible | — | 8714 mi |
| San Luis Obispo, CA | Not visible | — | 8784 mi |
| Pismo Beach, CA | Not visible | — | 8794 mi |
| Guadalupe, CA | Not visible | — | 8806 mi |
| Santa Maria, CA | Not visible | — | 8811 mi |
| Orcutt, CA | Not visible | — | 8816 mi |
| Bakersfield, CA | Not visible | — | 8818 mi |
| Vandenberg Village, CA | Not visible | — | 8825 mi |
| Los Alamos, CA | Not visible | — | 8828 mi |
| Lompoc, CA | Not visible | — | 8829 mi |
| Buellton, CA | Not visible | — | 8838 mi |
| Solvang, CA | Not visible | — | 8840 mi |
| Mojave, CA | Not visible | — | 8857 mi |
| Santa Barbara, CA | Not visible | — | 8861 mi |
| Ventura, CA | Not visible | — | 8881 mi |
| Myrtle Beach, SC | Not visible | — | 8884 mi |
| Oxnard, CA | Not visible | — | 8888 mi |
| Thousand Oaks, CA | Not visible | — | 8898 mi |
| Malibu, CA | Not visible | — | 8909 mi |
| Pasadena, CA | Not visible | — | 8915 mi |
| Los Angeles, CA | Not visible | — | 8919 mi |
| Long Beach, CA | Not visible | — | 8938 mi |
| Charleston, SC | Not visible | — | 8966 mi |
| Hilton Head Island, SC | Not visible | — | 9022 mi |
| San Diego, CA | Not visible | — | 9028 mi |
| Savannah, GA | Not visible | — | 9039 mi |
| Brunswick, GA | Not visible | — | 9107 mi |
| Jacksonville, FL | Not visible | — | 9163 mi |
| Valdosta, GA | Not visible | — | 9169 mi |
| St. Augustine, FL | Not visible | — | 9181 mi |
| Palm Coast, FL | Not visible | — | 9199 mi |
| Tallahassee, FL | Not visible | — | 9216 mi |
| Daytona Beach, FL | Not visible | — | 9217 mi |
| Gainesville, FL | Not visible | — | 9222 mi |
| New Smyrna Beach, FL | Not visible | — | 9226 mi |
| Mims, FL | Not visible | — | 9247 mi |
| Titusville, FL | Not visible | — | 9249 mi |
| Sanford, FL | Not visible | — | 9249 mi |
| Port Canaveral, FL | Not visible | — | 9256 mi |
| Merritt Island, FL | Not visible | — | 9261 mi |
| Cocoa Beach, FL | Not visible | — | 9261 mi |
| Rockledge, FL | Not visible | — | 9263 mi |
| Orlando, FL | Not visible | — | 9268 mi |
| Satellite Beach, FL | Not visible | — | 9270 mi |
| Indialantic, FL | Not visible | — | 9274 mi |
| Melbourne, FL | Not visible | — | 9276 mi |
| Pensacola Beach, FL | Not visible | — | 9279 mi |
| Palm Bay, FL | Not visible | — | 9279 mi |
| Kissimmee, FL | Not visible | — | 9285 mi |
| Sebastian, FL | Not visible | — | 9289 mi |
| Gulf Shores, AL | Not visible | — | 9294 mi |
| Vero Beach, FL | Not visible | — | 9298 mi |
| Fort Pierce, FL | Not visible | — | 9308 mi |
| Lakeland, FL | Not visible | — | 9314 mi |
| Port St. Lucie, FL | Not visible | — | 9319 mi |
| Tampa, FL | Not visible | — | 9333 mi |
| West Palm Beach, FL | Not visible | — | 9345 mi |
| Fort Lauderdale, FL | Not visible | — | 9384 mi |
| Grand Isle, LA | Not visible | — | 9397 mi |
| Miami, FL | Not visible | — | 9407 mi |
| Rockport, TX | Not visible | — | 9546 mi |
| Port Aransas, TX | Not visible | — | 9559 mi |
| Corpus Christi, TX | Not visible | — | 9563 mi |
| Laredo, TX | Not visible | — | 9587 mi |
| Harlingen, TX | Not visible | — | 9675 mi |
| McAllen, TX | Not visible | — | 9676 mi |
| Bayview, TX | Not visible | — | 9678 mi |
| South Padre Island, TX | Not visible | — | 9679 mi |
| Laguna Vista, TX | Not visible | — | 9680 mi |
| Port Isabel, TX | Not visible | — | 9681 mi |
| Los Fresnos, TX | Not visible | — | 9682 mi |
| Brownsville, TX | Not visible | — | 9694 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.
More from Indian Space Research Organization ↗
Before you go
- Launch times change: 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.
Gaganyaan Abort Test Booster TV-D2 launch FAQ
When is the Gaganyaan Abort Test Booster TV-D2 launch date and time?
Gaganyaan Abort Test Booster TV-D2 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 Gaganyaan Abort Test Booster TV-D2 launch from?
From Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India, operated by Indian Space Research Organization. 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 Gaganyaan Abort Test Booster TV-D2 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.