Can SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket launch from Kennedy Space Center be seen in West Palm Beach?

Jennifer Sangalang, Brooke Edwards and Rick Neale, Palm Beach Post
·5 min read

When SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket launches from NASA's Kennedy Space Center near Cape Canaveral, can Palm Beach County residents see it?

Possibly, people in West Palm Beach and Greenacres have reported seeing a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket liftoff (see video and photos below).

The mammoth SpaceX rocket Falcon Heavy − more powerful than the space agency's Falcon 9 − will potentially lift off this week. Depending on weather, Falcon Heavy should be visible from nearly anywhere on the Space Coast and in areas outside of the county, possibly hundreds of miles away.

Here's more information about the rocket launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. If there are changes to the launch, this story will be updated.

Is there a launch today? Upcoming SpaceX, NASA, ULA rocket launch schedule in Florida

Is there a rocket launch from Florida? The next is Tuesday, June 25: SpaceX Falcon Heavy GOES-U

What is SpaceX Falcon Heavy?

The Falcon Heavy is three Falcon 9 rocket first stages — which together give three times the lift. The center Falcon 9 is fully loaded with the second stage of the rocket and the payload atop. The payload, in this case the NOAA satellite, is encased in fairings to shield it on the way to space.

By comparison, the Falcon 9 that launches Starlink missions is a single rocket. Just one of these single rockets towers 229.6 feet tall with the second stage and has a diameter of 12 feet.

With three of these Falcon 9 rockets, the monster Falcon Heavy stands the same height. However, it's much wider, giving it a width of 39.9 feet, which is comparable to almost three cars parked bumper to bumper.

How big is Falcon Heavy? What does SpaceX Falcon Heavy look like compared to Falcon 9 rockets?

Photo galleries attached to this story show scenes of a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket launch (morning, afternoon or night) from the Space Coast of Florida. From Melbourne Beach to West Palm Beach, it's about 120 miles.

Falcon Heavy, which is made up of three Falcon 9 rocket first stages, can potentially be seen outside of the Space Coast, weather permitting and depending on cloud cover.

Will it rain in Cape Canaveral, Florida, today? Will weather cancel SpaceX rocket launch?

Shown is the National Weather Service-Melbourne radar, which shows conditions in real-time for the Space Coast and other parts of Florida.

Can you see a rocket launch from Kennedy Space Center or Cape Canaveral, Florida, in West Palm Beach?

Weather permitting and depending on cloud cover, some rockets that launch from Cape Canaveral or from NASA's Kennedy Space Center may be seen in Palm Beach County, Florida. Some examples include United Launch Alliance's Delta IV Heavy rocket launch and SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. "Heavy" indicates the rockets have three rocket first stages whereas a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is one singular. Photos and video from the Palm Beach Post and shared on social media show a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch visible in West Palm Beach − on some occasions.

Videos, tweets of SpaceX rocket launch near Cape Canaveral spotted in West Palm Beach in South Florida

Photos, tweets of rocket launch seen in West Palm Beach, Florida

A reader captured this photo of a rocket launch from Cape Canaveral streaking through the sky on a morning drive between Northlake and Okeechobee Boulevard in West Palm Beach, Florida, on August 8, 2019.
A reader captured this photo of a rocket launch from Cape Canaveral streaking through the sky on a morning drive between Northlake and Okeechobee Boulevard in West Palm Beach, Florida, on August 8, 2019.

Sangalang is a lead digital producer for USA TODAY Network-Florida. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram at @byjensangalang. Support local journalism. Consider subscribing to a Florida newspaper.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Falcon Heavy launch in Florida: How to watch in Palm Beaches