YOU MAY HAVE HEARD that the Artemis II Wet Dress Rehearsal (WDR) revealed issues requiring the launch to be delayed into the March window. At a press conference on Tuesday, February 3, NASA officials explained the nature of the issues (hydrogen leaks) and the timeline going forward. Since any repairs would require another WDR, the SLS Artemis II rocket will remain at the pad unless something is identified that requires de-stacking the rocket. During this time then, you should have ample opportunities to see the rocket. Check out the guide above for information on how to get up close with Artemis II!

update 2/12/26 9:07 pm: Liftoff weather is predicted 90% favorable, but BE AWARE that foggy conditions are LIKELY. Your view may be partially obscured. You may have the most unique viewing experience because of this fog, but USE CAUTION wherever you go to see it!!! If you plan to go out to the beach, give yoruself extra time to take it slow.

Launch Window: instantaneous
Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Launch Complex 40
Launch Trajectory: northeast
Recovery: the booster will return and land at the NEW landing zone at LC-40, "LZ-40"

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 15* AT 7 PM IN THE MOVIE THEATER, I'll be profiling the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and the Starlink 6-103 mission launching later that night. We'll look at pictures and video of Falcon 9 for insights into what you'll be seeing. I'll also show you the best places to view the launch from, including balconies and other locations here on the property.

This version of the program also includes information about how to see the SLS Artemis II rocket from the points of view available at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex!

All ages are welcome, but parents of very young kids should be aware that this isn't really a kid-oriented program and it may not hold the attention of very young children.

Launch Window: 4 hours. Launch is overnight Sunday night / Monday morning
Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Launch Complex 40
Launch Trajectory: southeast
Recovery: first-stage booster will land on a drone ship east of the Bahamas approximately 400 miles downrange

Click Here For Our On-Property Viewing Guide for Pad 40
(opens in new window)

Expect to see this launch 'push to the right' to Wednesday or later

Launch Window: 4 hours
Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, SLC-40
Launch Trajectory: northeast
Recovery: first-stage booster will land on a drone ship east of the Bahamas approximately 400 miles downrange

Click Here For Our On-Property Viewing Guide for Pad 40
(opens in new window)

Launch Window: 4 hours. Launch is overnight Friday night / Saturday morning
Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Launch Complex 40
Launch Trajectory: southeast
Recovery: first-stage booster will land on a drone ship east of the Bahamas approximately 400 miles downrange

Click Here For Our On-Property Viewing Guide for Pad 40
(opens in new window)

NET= Not Earlier Than
TBA=To Be Announced
TBC=To Be Confirmed
L- (L minus) = days before launch
T- (T minus) = time in hrs:min:sec before liftoff
T+ (T plus) = time in hrs:min:sec after liftoff

SpaceX Specific
ASDS=landing on a seagoing platform, or Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship
RTLS=landing at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, or Return To Launch Site

I'm frequently asked about which app has the most up-to-date information. I use Space Launch Schedule on iPhone for quick reference, they're usually on top of it and you can get the most relevant information fast. It's also available for other phones. I like it in particular because you can filter by location so it's easy to just monitor Florida launches. They are also usually fairly accurate with countdowns as well.

I also rely heavily on WeatherBug for rain and cloud cover predictions, their phone app is very detailed. When I get real serious about cloud cover, I consult Clear Dark Sky.

For information far out ahead of time, there are a number of sources, and the best ones are hidden behind paywalls. Here's a couple of free resources that you might be interested in.

Spaceflight Now maintains a pretty good schedule page and they have a decent news service.

X (formerly twitter) regardless of your opinions about Elon Musk or anything else*, X is still the best place for breaking news. If you follow launch providers, space journalists, and launch photographers, you'll have enough content to keep you scrolling for a while every time you open the app. I frequently post my own launch photos, and consider X to be my primary research platform for space and launch news.

Marine Traffic is a good site to see what ships are at port here at Port Canaveral, as well as to follow elements of the SpaceX maritime fleet. It's better with a paid subscription, but in its most basic form it will show you locations of certain vessels.

*This blog is a work in progress, so I will add things from time to time. Of course these recommendations are the editor's personal selections and don't reflect the preferences of Holiday Inn Club Vacations. Likewise, opinions are also my own.

I frequently will use the phrase, "a decent pair of binoculars" when I'm presenting live. In terms of rocket launch viewing, a decent pair of binoculars is pretty much anything 8x or better. These measurements refer to the magnification and the lens size. So a 10x20 binocular brings the object 10-times closer in your vision. A 7x42 magnifies it 7-times. I caution against going higher than about 13 in magnification, because once something is so magnified then it becomes difficult to hold the binocular steady. I have a pair of 25x75 astronomy binoculars, that almost have to be mounted on a tripod in order to be used, because they're magnifying at such great power. Think about how your digital camera responds when you zoom it ALL the way in. What's in my camera bag? a pair of 8x42 Nikon binocs.

A 10x50 binocular will provide better resolution than a 10x25, because the lens in the 10x50 is twice as big. It 'sees' twice as much light. They both produce a 10x image, but the 10x25 has to push it through more elements to get that power, which dims and distorts the image. There's also a matter of field which is how wide the area see in the binoculars is, which is usually presented as how many yards are visible at a distance of 1,000 yards (914m). You might also encounter the specification for exit pupil which is how 'big' the image is in the eyepiece. If you're looking at two pairs of binoculars and one has a 2.5mm exit pupil and the other has a 5mm, you can bet that the first pair has the sharper image.

That's the short talk on binoculars. For launch viewing, just about anything 7x or better is probably 'good enough' for a one-time experience.  But after you start using them all the time, I'm sure that like me, you'll decide to buy a pair that provides great quality. Brand names aren't that important, but like anything else, cheap binoculars are cheap for a reason.

I'm frequently asked about using the site when you're not staying on property, and the answer is "of course you can!" If you're an annual (or more frequent) visitor, I definitely recommend adding a bookmark to your browser or saving the site to your phone's home screen. If this idea is foreign to you, it's really quite easy:

iPhone:

With the site open on your browser (typically Safari), touch the 'Share' icon at the bottom of the screen (it's a square box with an arrow pointing out of the top). From menu that opens, select 'Add to Home Screen' (you may have to slide the menu up in order to find this option).

Android:

open the website in your Chrome browser, tap the menu icon (usually three dots in the top right corner), and select "Add to Home screen".