SPACE AND NASA NEWS

SPACE COAST LAUNCH SCHEDULE
NEXT LAUNCH
  • No earlier than February 2019
  • Vehicle: SpaceX Falcon 9
  • Mission: Dragon crew capsule test flight (capsule will be unmanned for test flight)
  • Launch Site: Space Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center 
  • Launch Window: TBA
LAUNCH VIEWING SITES
(Man and child watching Delta IV rocket launch)

From Port Canaveral to the Indian River Lagoon to the beaches, there are many easy-to-access sites along the Space Coast to watch Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral rocket launches. Florida's Space Coast has a great list of more than a dozen rocket launch viewing sites, with descriptions and maps. Check it out here!

MORE FLORIDA LAUNCHES

FEBRUARY 2019

  • Vehicle: SpaceX Falcon 9
  • Mission: Nusantara Satu mission (formerly called PSN-1), an Indonesian satellite
  • Launch Site: Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
  • Launch Date: No earlier than mid-February
  • Launch Window: TBA

MARCH 2019

  • Vehicle: ULA Atlas V
  • Mission: Boeing Starliner crew capsule test (capsule will be unmanned for test flight)
  • Launch Site: Space Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
  • Launch Window: TBA

JUNE 2019

  • Vehicle: SpaceX Falcon 9
  • Mission: Dragon crew capsule flight test to ISS (with 2 NASA astronauts aboard)
  • Launch Site: Space Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center
  • Launch Window: TBA

JUNE 2019

  • Vehicle: ULA Altas V
  • Mission: Boeing Starliner crew capsule flight test to ISS (with 2 crew members aboard)
  • Launch Site: Space Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
  • Launch Window: TBA

(Sources: SpaceX, NASA, United Launch Alliance, 45th Space Wing, Boeing, Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Lockheed Martin)

SPACE LINKS
SPACE SHUTTLES: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Space shuttle Atlantis retired to Kennedy Space Center

ATLANTIS: Kennedy Space Center

  • Space shuttle Atlantis launched on its last mission at 11:29 a.m. July 8, 2011.
  • The shuttle program ended with the landing of Atlantis on Thursday, July 21 at 5:57 a.m.
  • Atlantis was NASA's fourth space shuttle orbiter to join the fleet.
Retired space shuttle Endeavour arrives at its new home in California

ENDEAVOUR: California Science Center, Los Angeles

  • Space shuttle Endeavour launched on its final mission Monday, May 16, 2011.
  • After a journey of 6.5 million miles, the orbiter landed for the final time at Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, June 1, 2011.
Retired space shuttle Discovery

DISCOVERY: Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum

  • Discovery was NASA's reliable workhorse, spending more than a quarter century carrying crews, satellites and space station parts.
  • In 1990, Discovery carried the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit.
  • Final flight: Feb. 24, 2011.
Prototype space shuttle Enterprise arrives in New York City for its retirement

ENTERPRISE: Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, New York City

  • Enterprise was a prototype shuttle, rolling out of a California assembly facility on Sept. 17, 1976. After its success, Columbia became the 1st shuttle in space.
  • It was originally to be named Constitution, but a write-in campaign by fans of the TV show Star Trek got it renamed.

SOURCES: Information and images on this page are from NASA, United Launch Alliance and SpaceX.

AROUND CENTRAL FLORIDA