The SpaceX rocket might be seen from Puerto Rico tonight

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will blast off from Florida early Sunday night time and the launch trajectory is within the course of Puerto Rico, so it’s anticipated to be seen from the complete island. The rocket will carry 22 Starlink satellites into house as a part of a constellation of those satellites to supply satellite tv for pc web.

The launch is tentatively scheduled for 11:58 p.m. and shortly after it will likely be seen to the bare eye from the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico in full ascent into house.

“If liftoff happens at the moment, we’ll see it from the island someday between 12:05 and 12:07 AM (Sunday to Monday) heading towards the northwest horizon,” predicted Eddie Irizari, scientific writer of the Caribbean Astronomical Society (SAC). .

If the launch occurred at 11:58 p.m., Irizari famous, observers would word that throughout the later a part of the viewing (round 12:07 a.m.) it will be attainable to see the trajectory peak and a “level” breakaway or small object noticed. He defined that it’s the actual second when the second stage of the missile is stopped or accomplished.

If vital, he defined, the launch could possibly be delayed till later tonight and nonetheless be seen from the island minutes later. “The missile will move 112 miles (180 km) above Puerto Rico whereas we’re watching them,” he added.

“Even in the event you discover that the sky is a bit cloudy, there’s potential to see it since you solely have to see towards the northwest horizon to have the ability to spot it,” mentioned Nelson Ortega, vp of SAC.