This map shows where the Artemis I SLS rocket will be visible from the ground after liftoff. Actual visibility will depend on local weather conditions as well as the precise timing and trajectory of the launch. After the rocket reaches 40,000 feet, which will occur 70 seconds after liftoff, the rocket will no longer be visible to the naked eye from the ground. Credit: NASA/Kevin O’Brien
NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft will be visible along the Space Coast and throughout parts of Florida for a brief minute or so launch after it launches on the uncrewed Artemis I flight test to the Moon. NASA is currently targeting the next launch attempt of the Artemis I mission for Wednesday, November 16 during a 120-minute launch window that opens at 1:04 a.m. EST.
Weather permitting, the bright light from the plumes of the Moon rocket’s twin solid rocket boosters and four RS-25 engines could be seen against the dark night sky for up to 70 seconds after liftoff from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The rocket and spacecraft will no longer be visible to the naked eye after reaching an altitude of 42,000 feet. Launch visibility is dependent upon several factors, including launch time and dates.
Artemis I will be the first integrated test of NASA’s deep space exploration systems: the Orion spacecraft, Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, and the ground systems at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. During this flight, the Orion spacecraft will fly farther than any spacecraft built for humans has ever flown after launching on the most powerful rocket in the world. It will travel 280,000 miles from Earth, thousands of miles beyond the Moon over the course of about a three-week mission. Orion will stay in space longer than any ship for astronauts has done without docking to a space station and return home faster and hotter than ever before. Credit: NASA
