Back-to-back rocket launches in Florida before July 4? Where to see in Daytona, New Smyrna Beach

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station June 28, 2025 carrying 27 Starlink V2 satellites. Craig Bailey/FLORIDA TODAY via USA TODAY NETWORK

If all goes according to plan for SpaceX, a pair of rocket launches may be on the horizon for Tuesday and Wednesday, July 1 and 2, ahead of the Independence Day holiday. Liftoff will potentially occur at Kennedy Space Center and nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Though rockets launch in Florida from NASA's Kennedy Space Center or Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, people beyond the area can sometimes see this 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 about the SpaceX rocket launches in Florida, a list of doubleheader rocket launches and suggestions on where to watch them.

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 the next SpaceX rocket launch from Florida? Wednesday, July 2: SpaceX Starlink 10-25

  • Mission: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a payload of Starlink broadband satellites into low-Earth orbit, a Federal Aviation Administration operations plan advisory shows.
  • Launch window: 1:29 a.m. to 5:59 a.m. ET Wednesday, July 2, 2025
  • Launch location: Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida
  • Sonic booms for the Space Coast of Florida: No
  • Trajectory: Northeast
  • Live coverage starts 90 minutes 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.

When is the SpaceX rocket launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida? Tuesday, July 1: SpaceX MTG-S1

  • Mission: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the European Space Agency's Meteosat Third Generation Sounder satellite into orbit, a Federal Aviation Administration operations plan advisory shows.
  • Launch window: 5:03 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. ET Tuesday, July 1, 2025
  • Launch location: Launch pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center near Cape Canaveral, Florida
  • Sonic booms from the Space Coast of Florida: No
  • Trajectory: TBA
  • Live coverage starts 90 minutes 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.

How many doubleheader rocket launches have there been in Florida in 2025?

As of Monday, June 30, 2025, there have been 54 rocket launches from NASA's Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Of the 54 rocket launches, some of which have included crew members en route to the International Space Station, seven have been "doubleheaders," or two in one day. Here's a look back at those missions.

  • Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025: For the SpaceX Starlink 12-3 mission, a Falcon 9 rocket launched at 5:15 a.m. Feb. 4, 2025, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, followed by a 6:13 p.m. Feb. 4, 2025, launch for SpaceX Maxar 3 mission from NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
  • Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025: For the SpaceX Intuitive Machines IM-2 mission, a Falcon 9 rocket launched at 7:16 p.m. Feb. 26, 2025, from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, followed by a 10:34 p.m. Feb. 26, 2025, launch for SpaceX Starlink 12-13 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
  • Monday, March 31, 2025: For the SpaceX Starlink 6-80 mission, a Falcon 9 rocket launched at 3:52 p.m. March 31, 2025, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, followed by a 9:46 p.m. March 31, 2025, launch for SpaceX Fram2 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
  • Monday, April 21, 2025: For the NASA-SpaceX CRS-32 mission, a Falcon 9 rocket launched at 4:15 a.m. April 21, 2025, from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, followed by a 8:48 p.m. April 21, 2025, launch for SpaceX Bandwagon-3 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
  • Monday, April 28, 2025: For United Launch Alliance's first Project Kuiper mission, an Atlas V rocket launched at 7:01 p.m. April 28, 2025, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, followed by a 10:34 p.m. April 28, 2025, launch of the Falcon 9 rocket for SpaceX Starlink 12-10 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
  • Monday, June 23, 2025: For the SpaceX Starlink 10-23 mission, a Falcon 9 rocket launched at 1:58 a.m. June 23, 2025, from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, followed by a 6:54 a.m. June 23, 2025, United Launch Alliance-Amazon Project Kuiper 2 launch of the Atlas V rocket from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
  • Wednesday, June 25, 2025: For the SpaceX-Axiom Space Mission 4 (Ax-4), after multiple delays, the fourth astronaut crew of Axiom Space finally took off for the International Space Station at 2:31 a.m. June 25, 2025. It was the first flight of a brand new SpaceX Dragon, which was named Grace. SpaceX launched Axiom Space crew from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. SpaceX Starlink 10-16 mission followed at 3:54 p.m. June 25, 2025, from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The payload was 27 Starlink internet satellites.

FLORIDA TODAY's Space Team consistently covers rocket launches from NASA's Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station for the USA TODAY Network. Of the seven doubleheader rocket launches in Florida for 2025, four happened on a Monday, and only one occurred at the same launch complex station location on the same day (June 23 SpaceX and ULA missions).

Coincidentally, the ULA-Amazon Project Kuiper launches each happened on a Monday, and both fell on a doubleheader rocket launch day.

Where to see Florida rocket launch in Daytona Beach, New Smyrna Beach area

• Mary McLeod Bethune Beach Park, 6656 S. Atlantic Ave., New Smyrna Beach. Bethune Beach is 3.5 miles south of New Smyrna Beach and one mile north of the Apollo Beach entrance to Canaveral National Seashore Park.

• Apollo Beach at Canaveral National Seashore (south of New Smyrna Beach). Canaveral National Seashore runs along Florida's East Coast in Volusia County and Brevard County. To access Apollo Beach, take Interstate 95 to exit 249, then travel east until it turns into State Road A1A. Follow SR A1A south to the park entrance.

• Sunrise Park, 275 River Road, Oak Hill

• Goodrich's Seafood and Oyster House back deck, 253 River Road, Oak Hill

• Seminole Rest national historic site, 211 River Road, Oak Hill

• Riverbreeze Park, 250 H.H. Burch Road, Oak Hill

• Mary Dewees Park, 178 N. Gaines St., Oak Hill

• Nancy Cummings Park, 232 Cummings St., Oak Hill

• Jimmie Vann Sunrise Park, 275 River Road, Oak Hill

• A.C. Delbert Dewees Municipal Pier, 243 River Road, Oak Hill

• Bird Observation Pier on River Road across from A.C. Delbert Municipal Pier (see above)

• Rose Bay in Port Orange, Florida

• beaches along New Smyrna Beach, Florida

• New Smyrna Beach Inlet, New Smyrna Beach lifeguard station

• Halifax Harbor Marina in Daytona Beach, Florida

• Ormond-by-the-Sea in Ormond Beach, Florida

• George R. Kennedy Memorial Park in Edgewater, Florida

(This story was updated to add new information.)

Sangalang is a lead digital producer for USA TODAY Network. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram at @byjensangalang. Support local journalism. Consider subscribing to a Florida newspaper.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Back-to-back rocket launches in Florida before July 4? Where to see in Daytona, New Smyrna Beach