Early last week, Southern Californians stared bemused at the streak of light above Los Angeles at sunset. Was it a UFO? A missile? A space laser?
Now you can be the know-it-all who tells them what’s happening: Another SpaceX rocket launch is scheduled to light up the night sky this weekend.
In a statement, SpaceX announced that the private spacecraft manufacturer headquartered in Hawthorne would attempt a “Falcon 9 launch of 22 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit” no earlier than 7:30 p.m. Saturday. The launch was originally scheduled for Thursday and has been delayed twice.
“Liftoff is targeted for 7:30 p.m. PT, with backup opportunities available until 11:30 p.m. PT,” according to the SpaceX launch site. “If needed, additional opportunities are also available on Sunday, March 31 starting at 7:30 p.m. PT.”
The launch would be SpaceX’s 11th this year from Vandenberg Space Force Base, according to a tweet from the company.
Those interested can watch a livestream of the launch on X, formerly Twitter, or simply look to the sky.
During last week’s launch, viewers on social media posted videos and offered guesses of what the light might be, or simply asked: “What is this!”
The National Weather Service is forecasting possible showers on Saturday night, which could interfere with the celestial show — or postpone the launch again. So sky watchers might want to keep an eye on the company’s social media for updates.
