Vulcan NROL-100 — launch date, time, visibility & where to look

Classified payload for the US National Reconnaissance Office

Vulcan on the pad
Rocket
Vulcan
Provider
United Launch Alliance
Launch site
Vandenberg SFB, CA, 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 Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA (liftoff is still beyond the 7-day forecast window):

  • Today 90% cloud 0% rain
  • Sat 84% cloud 7% rain
  • Sun 72% cloud 38% rain
  • Mon 68% cloud 71% rain
  • Tue 39% cloud 9% rain
  • Wed 30% cloud 1% rain
  • Thu 21% cloud 0% 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 an hour-of-liftoff go/no-go call (cloud, wind, rain chance and visibility) in the launch finder. Pro · $19.99/yr

Visibility map: how far away can you see it?

Each ring shows how far away Vulcan 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 Los Angeles, CA — 140 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Los Angeles Santa Barbara, CA — 53 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Santa Barbara San Luis Obispo, CA — 44 mi from the pad · excellent view expected San Luis Obispo Pismo Beach, CA — 35 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Pismo Beach San Diego, CA — 238 mi from the pad · excellent view expected San Diego Bakersfield, CA — 102 mi from the pad · good view expected Bakersfield Long Beach, CA — 150 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Long Beach Fresno, CA — 152 mi from the pad · good view expected Fresno San Jose, CA — 200 mi from the pad · good view expected San Jose Space Launch Complex 3E
Vulcan | NROL-100 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
Lompoc, CA Excellent west 7 mi
Vandenberg Village, CA Excellent southwest 8 mi
Orcutt, CA Excellent south-southwest 17 mi
Los Alamos, CA Excellent west-southwest 19 mi
Buellton, CA Excellent west 23 mi
Guadalupe, CA Excellent south 23 mi
Santa Maria, CA Excellent south-southwest 23 mi
Solvang, CA Excellent west 26 mi
Pismo Beach, CA Excellent south 35 mi
San Luis Obispo, CA Excellent south 44 mi
Show all 94 cities
CityVisibilityLook towardDistance to pad
Santa Barbara, CA Excellent west-northwest 53 mi
Ventura, CA Excellent west-northwest 78 mi
Oxnard, CA Excellent west-northwest 86 mi
Bakersfield, CA Good west-southwest 102 mi
Thousand Oaks, CA Excellent west-northwest 105 mi
Malibu, CA Excellent west-northwest 116 mi
Mojave, CA Good west-southwest 140 mi
Los Angeles, CA Excellent west-northwest 140 mi
Pasadena, CA Excellent west-northwest 144 mi
Long Beach, CA Excellent west-northwest 150 mi
Fresno, CA Good south-southwest 152 mi
San Jose, CA Good south-southeast 200 mi
San Diego, CA Excellent northwest 238 mi
Laredo, TX Not visible — 1338 mi
Corpus Christi, TX Not visible — 1445 mi
McAllen, TX Not visible — 1450 mi
Rockport, TX Not visible — 1459 mi
Port Aransas, TX Not visible — 1463 mi
Harlingen, TX Not visible — 1479 mi
Los Fresnos, TX Not visible — 1495 mi
Bayview, TX Not visible — 1497 mi
Brownsville, TX Not visible — 1500 mi
Laguna Vista, TX Not visible — 1504 mi
Port Isabel, TX Not visible — 1510 mi
South Padre Island, TX Not visible — 1511 mi
Grand Isle, LA Not visible — 1825 mi
Gulf Shores, AL Not visible — 1933 mi
Pensacola Beach, FL Not visible — 1963 mi
Tallahassee, FL Not visible — 2123 mi
Valdosta, GA Not visible — 2172 mi
Gainesville, FL Not visible — 2252 mi
Brunswick, GA Not visible — 2267 mi
Savannah, GA Not visible — 2272 mi
Jacksonville, FL Not visible — 2274 mi
Tampa, FL Not visible — 2284 mi
Hilton Head Island, SC Not visible — 2288 mi
St. Augustine, FL Not visible — 2303 mi
Lakeland, FL Not visible — 2311 mi
Palm Coast, FL Not visible — 2316 mi
Charleston, SC Not visible — 2325 mi
Orlando, FL Not visible — 2331 mi
Sanford, FL Not visible — 2331 mi
Kissimmee, FL Not visible — 2335 mi
Daytona Beach, FL Not visible — 2336 mi
New Smyrna Beach, FL Not visible — 2345 mi
Mims, FL Not visible — 2359 mi
Titusville, FL Not visible — 2362 mi
Myrtle Beach, SC Not visible — 2368 mi
Rockledge, FL Not visible — 2373 mi
Merritt Island, FL Not visible — 2375 mi
Port Canaveral, FL Not visible — 2377 mi
Cocoa Beach, FL Not visible — 2380 mi
Satellite Beach, FL Not visible — 2385 mi
Melbourne, FL Not visible — 2386 mi
Palm Bay, FL Not visible — 2388 mi
Indialantic, FL Not visible — 2389 mi
Richmond, VA Not visible — 2396 mi
Sebastian, FL Not visible — 2401 mi
Washington, DC Not visible — 2405 mi
Vero Beach, FL Not visible — 2409 mi
Fort Pierce, FL Not visible — 2418 mi
Port St. Lucie, FL Not visible — 2421 mi
Baltimore, MD Not visible — 2425 mi
Annapolis, MD Not visible — 2434 mi
West Palm Beach, FL Not visible — 2453 mi
Newport News, VA Not visible — 2454 mi
Fort Lauderdale, FL Not visible — 2465 mi
Norfolk, VA Not visible — 2467 mi
Miami, FL Not visible — 2472 mi
Cape Charles, VA Not visible — 2476 mi
Virginia Beach, VA Not visible — 2484 mi
Dover, DE Not visible — 2484 mi
Exmore, VA Not visible — 2484 mi
Onancock, VA Not visible — 2486 mi
Salisbury, MD Not visible — 2487 mi
Pocomoke City, MD Not visible — 2492 mi
Philadelphia, PA Not visible — 2496 mi
Chincoteague, VA Not visible — 2504 mi
Wallops Island, VA Not visible — 2504 mi
Berlin, MD Not visible — 2508 mi
Rehoboth Beach, DE Not visible — 2512 mi
Ocean City, MD Not visible — 2515 mi
Cape May, NJ Not visible — 2519 mi
Ocean City, NJ Not visible — 2534 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° 60° T+10s T+5m 10s SE S SW W
From Lompoc, CA: rises T+10s in the W, peaks 60°.
10° 45° T+10s T+5m 10s SE S SW
From Vandenberg Village, CA: rises T+10s in the SW, peaks 45°.
10° 35° T+10s T+5m 10s SE S
From Orcutt, CA: rises T+10s in the SSW, peaks 35°.

More from United Launch Alliance ↗

Before you go

Vulcan NROL-100 launch FAQ

When is the Vulcan NROL-100 launch date and time?

Vulcan NROL-100 is currently targeting December 2026 — the exact date and time have not been announced yet. 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 Vulcan NROL-100 launch from?

From Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA, operated by United Launch Alliance. 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 Vulcan NROL-100 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 October 10, 2026.