You can watch SpaceX rockets launch from Hilton Head SC beaches soon. Here’s when and where

Sarah Claire McDonald
·2 min read

Did you know that Hilton Head residents can watch the SpaceX rocket launches from Cape Canaveral, Florida from the South Carolina island’s beaches?

Typically, on clear nights, the launches can be clearly visible over the ocean and can be quite a unique sight.

A three-stage suborbital sounding rocket launched March 3 off the East Coast is credited with creating this odd pink cloud. NASA Wallops photo
A three-stage suborbital sounding rocket launched March 3 off the East Coast is credited with creating this odd pink cloud. NASA Wallops photo

Karan Falandays, who has lived on the island part-time for a decade, detailed how she can see the launches over the ocean from Coligny Beach Park and that they can be visible down into Sea Pines.

“I think it’s so cool that we can see it so clearly all the way from Cape Canaveral,” she said.

With optimal viewing from the south end of the island, the spectacle appears as “a red flare that goes up and then to the right before it arches down to land,” according to Falandays.

Social media erupted Wednesday with reports of a mysterious red cloud floating off the East Coast. NASA says the cloud was associated with a rocket launch. Twitter screenshot
Social media erupted Wednesday with reports of a mysterious red cloud floating off the East Coast. NASA says the cloud was associated with a rocket launch. Twitter screenshot

For those who wish to view the event for themselves, you won’t have to wait long.

The next scheduled SpaceX launch will be the Falcon 9 Starlink (6-26) mission, which will launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida at 6:23 p.m. on Friday.

Later, the Falcon 9 Starlink (6-27) will launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida at 10 p.m. on Tuesday.

As of now, the last remaining scheduled launch is set for 4:08 p.m. Nov. 12 in Cape Canaveral, Florida for the Falcon 9 O3b mPower-3, the 5th and 6th second-generation satellites for SES-owned O3b Networks, according to RocketLaunch.Live.

On launch days and times, if unable to make it to the beach, astronomy enthusiasts can go online to https://www.rocketlaunch.live/?filter=spacex to watch a live stream of the launch.

A Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket with a payload of approximately 60 satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink broadband network lifts off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Wednesday, March 18, 2020. John Raoux/AP
A Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket with a payload of approximately 60 satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink broadband network lifts off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Wednesday, March 18, 2020. John Raoux/AP

For a Starlink satellite launch such as the two scheduled listed above, the line of sight is approximately 385 miles from where the rocket first appears above the horizon to over 600 miles from where the second stage disappears below the horizon, according to The Harris County Skywatcher.