Vulcan NROL-109 — 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
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 47% cloud 55% rain
  • Sun 50% cloud 70% rain
  • Mon 16% cloud 11% rain
  • Tue 5% cloud 2% rain
  • Wed 4% cloud 6% rain
  • Thu 15% cloud 16% rain
  • Fri 24% cloud 27% 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 Orlando, FL — 48 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Orlando Tampa, FL — 122 mi from the pad · good view expected Tampa Jacksonville, FL — 137 mi from the pad · good view expected Jacksonville Miami, FL — 197 mi from the pad · good view expected Miami Melbourne, FL — 35 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Melbourne Daytona Beach, FL — 51 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Daytona Beach Vero Beach, FL — 66 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Vero Beach Fort Pierce, FL — 80 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Fort Pierce Port St. Lucie, FL — 92 mi from the pad · good view expected Port St. Lucie West Palm Beach, FL — 133 mi from the pad · good view expected West Palm Beach Fort Lauderdale, FL — 172 mi from the pad · good view expected Fort Lauderdale St. Augustine, FL — 101 mi from the pad · good view expected St. Augustine Space Launch Complex 41
Vulcan | NROL-109 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 north 12 mi
Titusville, FL Excellent east 14 mi
Mims, FL Excellent east-southeast 16 mi
Merritt Island, FL Excellent north-northeast 17 mi
Cocoa Beach, FL Excellent north 18 mi
Rockledge, FL Excellent north-northeast 19 mi
Satellite Beach, FL Excellent north 28 mi
Indialantic, FL Excellent north 34 mi
Melbourne, FL Excellent north 35 mi
New Smyrna Beach, FL Excellent southeast 37 mi
Show all 94 cities
CityVisibilityLook towardDistance to pad
Palm Bay, FL Excellent north 38 mi
Sanford, FL Excellent east-southeast 44 mi
Orlando, FL Excellent east 48 mi
Daytona Beach, FL Excellent south-southeast 51 mi
Sebastian, FL Excellent north 53 mi
Kissimmee, FL Excellent east-northeast 54 mi
Vero Beach, FL Excellent north 66 mi
Palm Coast, FL Excellent south-southeast 79 mi
Fort Pierce, FL Excellent north 80 mi
Lakeland, FL Good east-northeast 91 mi
Port St. Lucie, FL Good north 92 mi
St. Augustine, FL Good south-southeast 101 mi
Tampa, FL Good east-northeast 122 mi
Gainesville, FL Good southeast 128 mi
West Palm Beach, FL Good north-northwest 133 mi
Jacksonville, FL Good south-southeast 137 mi
Fort Lauderdale, FL Good north 172 mi
Brunswick, GA Good south-southeast 185 mi
Miami, FL Good north 197 mi
Valdosta, GA Fair southeast 224 mi
Savannah, GA Good south 243 mi
Hilton Head Island, SC Good south 251 mi
Tallahassee, FL Fair east-southeast 257 mi
Charleston, SC Good south 293 mi
Myrtle Beach, SC Good south-southwest 367 mi
Pensacola Beach, FL Marginal east-southeast 412 mi
Gulf Shores, AL Marginal east 443 mi
Norfolk, VA Fair south-southwest 623 mi
Virginia Beach, VA Fair south-southwest 631 mi
Newport News, VA Fair south-southwest 634 mi
Richmond, VA Fair south-southwest 645 mi
Cape Charles, VA Fair south-southwest 656 mi
Exmore, VA Fair south-southwest 677 mi
Onancock, VA Fair south-southwest 690 mi
Wallops Island, VA Fair south-southwest 707 mi
Chincoteague, VA Fair south-southwest 712 mi
Pocomoke City, MD Fair south-southwest 716 mi
Salisbury, MD Fair south-southwest 734 mi
Berlin, MD Fair south-southwest 740 mi
Washington, DC Marginal south-southwest 742 mi
Ocean City, MD Fair south-southwest 745 mi
Annapolis, MD Marginal south-southwest 756 mi
Rehoboth Beach, DE Fair south-southwest 768 mi
Baltimore, MD Marginal south-southwest 774 mi
Cape May, NJ Fair south-southwest 786 mi
Dover, DE Fair south-southwest 786 mi
Ocean City, NJ Fair south-southwest 815 mi
Philadelphia, PA Marginal south-southwest 844 mi
Grand Isle, LA Not visible — 571 mi
Rockport, TX Not visible — 1002 mi
Port Aransas, TX Not visible — 1004 mi
Corpus Christi, TX Not visible — 1025 mi
South Padre Island, TX Not visible — 1032 mi
Port Isabel, TX Not visible — 1034 mi
Laguna Vista, TX Not visible — 1039 mi
Bayview, TX Not visible — 1046 mi
Los Fresnos, TX Not visible — 1051 mi
Brownsville, TX Not visible — 1055 mi
Harlingen, TX Not visible — 1062 mi
McAllen, TX Not visible — 1094 mi
Laredo, TX Not visible — 1155 mi
San Diego, CA Not visible — 2182 mi
Pasadena, CA Not visible — 2236 mi
Mojave, CA Not visible — 2238 mi
Long Beach, CA Not visible — 2239 mi
Los Angeles, CA Not visible — 2242 mi
Malibu, CA Not visible — 2268 mi
Thousand Oaks, CA Not visible — 2276 mi
Bakersfield, CA Not visible — 2286 mi
Oxnard, CA Not visible — 2295 mi
Ventura, CA Not visible — 2302 mi
Santa Barbara, CA Not visible — 2325 mi
Fresno, CA Not visible — 2331 mi
Solvang, CA Not visible — 2350 mi
Buellton, CA Not visible — 2353 mi
Los Alamos, CA Not visible — 2357 mi
Santa Maria, CA Not visible — 2366 mi
Orcutt, CA Not visible — 2367 mi
Lompoc, CA Not visible — 2368 mi
Vandenberg Village, CA Not visible — 2368 mi
Guadalupe, CA Not visible — 2374 mi
Pismo Beach, CA Not visible — 2378 mi
San Luis Obispo, CA Not visible — 2379 mi
San Jose, CA Not visible — 2449 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° 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 E
From Titusville, FL: rises T+10s in the E, peaks 34°.
10° 34° T+10s T+5m 10s E
From Mims, FL: rises T+10s in the ESE, peaks 34°.

More from United Launch Alliance ↗

Before you go

Vulcan NROL-109 launch FAQ

When is the Vulcan NROL-109 launch date and time?

Vulcan NROL-109 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-109 launch from?

From Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, 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-109 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.