SpaceX-Axiom rocket launch in Florida: Where to watch from Vero Beach, Fort Pierce, Port St. Lucie
Can liftoff be seen from the Treasure Coast? If the conditions are right, yes!
Axiom's fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station was originally aiming to launch in late May, but has been delayed several times. Its latest delay on Friday, June 13, was due to leaks on the ISS. As of Monday, June 23, a new launch time has been set for Wednesday, June 25.
When it does launch, a SpaceX Dragon capsule with four astronauts in it will be carried by a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
Though rockets here launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center near Merritt Island, Florida, or Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, people on the Treasure Coast can often see this Florida phenomenon.
Weather permitting and depending on cloud cover, a rocket launch from Florida’s Space Coast could be visible as far north as Jacksonville Beach and Daytona Beach to as far south as Vero Beach and West Palm Beach. When there’s a launch window in the middle of the night or very early morning, there’s an opportunity for unique photos — the rocket lights up the dark sky and the contrail after makes for a great photo.
Below is more information on rocket launches in Florida and suggestions on where to watch them from the Treasure Coast.
For questions or comments, email FLORIDA TODAY Space Reporter Rick Neale at [email protected] or Space Reporter Brooke Edwards at [email protected]. For more space news from the USA TODAY Network, visit floridatoday.com/space.
When is SpaceX rocket launch from Florida? Wednesday, June 25: SpaceX-Axiom Space Ax-4
The official crew portrait of Axiom Mission 4, the fourth private astronaut mission from Axiom Space to the International Space Station. From left are, Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla from India, Commander Peggy Whitson from the U.S., and Mission Specialists Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary.
- Mission: Axiom Space’s fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft from NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
- Launch: 2:31 a.m. ET Wednesday, June 25, 2025
- Launch location: Launch pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida
- Sonic booms for the Space Coast: Yes
- Trajectory: Northeast
- Live coverage starts two hours before liftoff at floridatoday.com/space: You can watch live rocket launch coverage from USA TODAY Network’s Space Team, which consists of FLORIDA TODAY space reporters Rick Neale and Brooke Edwards and visuals journalists Craig Bailey, Malcolm Denemark and Tim Shortt. Our Space Team will provide up-to-the-minute updates in a mobile-friendly live blog, complete with a countdown clock, at floridatoday.com/space, starting 90 minutes before liftoff. You can download the free FLORIDA TODAY app, which is available in the App Store or Google Play, or type floridatoday.com/space into your browser.
Where to watch a rocket launch in Indian River County, Florida
- Sebastian Inlet State Park, 9700 S. State Road A1A, Melbourne Beach, Florida (cost to enter)
- Wabasso Beach Park, 1808 Wabasso Beach Road, Wabasso, Florida
- Ambersands Beach Park, 12566 N. SR A1A, Vero Beach, Florida (free parking)
- South Beach Park, 1700 Ocean Drive, Vero Beach, Florida (free parking)
- Merrill Barber Bridge in Vero Beach, Florida
- Alma Lee Loy Bridge in Vero Beach, Florida
Where to watch a rocket launch in St. Lucie County, Florida
- Fort Pierce Inlet State Park, 905 Shorewinds Drive, Fort Pierce, Florida
- Blind Creek Beachside North and South, 5460 S. Ocean Drive, Fort Pierce, Florida
- Blue Heron Beach, 2101 Blue Heron Blvd., Fort Pierce, Florida
- Frederick Douglass Memorial Park, 3600 S. Ocean Drive, Fort Pierce, Florida
- Dollman Park Beachside, 9200 S. Ocean Drive, Jensen Beach, Florida
- Herman's Bay Beach, 7880 S. Ocean Drive, Jensen Beach, Florida
- John Brooks Park Beachside, 3300 S. Ocean Drive, Fort Pierce, Florida
- Middle Cove Beach, 4600 S. Ocean Drive, Fort Pierce, Florida
- Normandy Beach in Jensen Beach, Florida
- Pepper Park Beachside, 3302 N. SR A1A, Fort Pierce, Florida
- Walton Rocks Beach, 6700 S. Ocean Drive, Jensen Beach, Florida (dog park)
- Waveland Beach, 10350 S. Ocean Drive, Jensen Beach, Florida
Where to watch a rocket launch in Martin County, Florida
- State Road A1A causeway in Stuart, Florida
- House of Refuge and beach, 301 S.E. MacArthur Blvd., Stuart, Florida
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: SpaceX-Axiom rocket launch in Florida: Where to watch from Vero Beach, Fort Pierce, Port St. Lucie
