Florida
Can Cape Canaveral rocket launch be seen in Fort Myers, Naples? Yes. See list
Can a rocket launch from NASA or Cape Canaveral be seen in Fort Myers, 245 miles away? Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and ULA Atlas V have liftoffs in April 2026.
Can a rocket launch from Cape Canaveral be seen in Lee County skies?
If conditions are just right, yes.
Most recently, when NASA’s massive Space Launch Systems rocket launched from Kennedy Space Center for the agency’s historic moon-orbiting mission, liftoff was visible across Florida, including Fort Myers.
Though Southwest Florida is known more for its pristine shelling over SpaceX rocket launches, people far beyond the launch pad can sometimes see this phenomenon.
In the next week or so, there may be two opportunities to spot a rocket launch in the Lee County and Collier County area.
Keep reading for more information.
NASA Artemis II rocket launch seen in Fort Myers, Florida
The world tuned in for the NASA Artemis II rocket launch from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral on April 1, 2026, sending astronauts Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Jeremy Hansen on a 10-day journey around the moon. The launch could be seen as far west as Fort Myers and south from Jupiter, Florida.
The Artemis II crew made history with their lunar flyby on April 6, 2026, and set a record the same day for the farthest any human has been from Earth. After the Artemis II astronauts left the moon in the rearview mirror, the crew splashed down April 10, 2026, off the coast of San Diego, California.
When is the next big rocket launch visible in Cape Coral, Fort Myers and Naples, Florida?
Blue Origin’s giant New Glenn rocket is standing tall on the Cape Canaveral launch pad once again in preparation for the new rocket’s third flight. New Glenn will launch AST SpaceMobile’s next-generation Block 2 BlueBird satellite to low-Earth orbit.
While it has been teased that a launch is upcoming, Blue Origin has yet to release an official launch date. According to a Federal Aviation Administration advisory and the Space Coast Office of Tourism, liftoff is set for now no earlier than 6:45 a.m. Friday, April 17, from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Live FLORIDA TODAY Space Team coverage starts two hours before liftoff at floridatoday.com/space.
Jeff Bezos’ space tech company, Blue Origin, has New Glenn, one large rocket
Visible from Brevard County beaches, New Glenn may not look big on the launch pad but it is actually one of the largest rockets in history. At 321 feet tall,New Glenn is just a foot shorterthan NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) moon rocket, which recently launched the Artemis II mission.
Going back in history, the only other rocket that would tower over New Glenn would have been the 363-foot-tall Saturn V rocket which sent Apollo astronauts to the moon.
However, the largest rocket of all time is SpaceX’s 403-foot-tall Starship, which may launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Pad 39A in the coming year, pending the completion of the upcoming test flight out of Texas.
For context, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 stands only 230-feet-tall.
What other Cape Canaveral rocket launch may be visible in Southwest Florida?
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with five solid rocket boosters will launch another batch of 29 Amazon Leo broadband satellites on Monday, April 27, with the launch window and launch trajectory to be announced, according to FLORIDA TODAY, a USA TODAY Network newspaper.
Liftoff will be from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Live FLORIDA TODAY Space Team coverage of that mission will start 90 minutes before liftoff at floridatoday.com/space.
Photos of Florida rocket launch, SpaceX Falcon 9 and Starship seen in Lee County, Collier County sky
Weather permitting and depending on cloud cover and trajectory, a rocket launch from Florida’s Space Coast could be visible as far north as Jacksonville Beach, as far south as West Palm Beach and as far west as Fort Myers.
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 image.
Andrew West, an award-winning visuals journalist with the News-Press and Naples Daily News, both USA TODAY Network newspapers, captured photos of a United Launch Alliance rocket leaving a streak in the Southwest Florida sky after liftoff from across the state.
► Stunning rocket launch photos! NASA SpaceX Crew-12 journeys from Kennedy Space Center in Florida to the space station
From NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to Fort Myers, Florida, it’s about 245 miles. Most rocket launches that have a late-night or early morning liftoff time are better viewing options for Southwest Florida.
Debris from SpaceX Starship rocket launch in Texas visible in Collier County, Florida, sky
SpaceX Starship debris falls to Earth after rocket ‘disassembly’
SpaceX said it lost contact with its Starship rocket, which Elon Musk’s company said “experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly.”
SpaceX’s Starship rocket explodes over Caribbean skies
Witnesses spotted debris from a SpaceX Starship after the spacecraft exploded midair following a test flight from south Texas.
In 2025, two Starship rocket launches from the Boca Chica area of Texas, renamed officially to Starbase, were visible in certain parts of Florida.
On March 6, 2025, during a Starship rocket launch test flight from Starbase, flight operators lost contact with the 165-foot upper portion of the vehicle, which exploded less than 10 minutes into the flight, creating debris visible from Florida to the Caribbean. Locally, pieces of the uncrewed Starship rocket were seen streaking across the sky from West Palm Beach to Naples.
Starbase, headquarters for SpaceX in South Texas, is more than 1,500 miles away from Naples, Florida.
Watch some rocket launches with NASA on Prime Video
Watch NASA+ content with Amazon Prime Video
NASA content, including some rocket launches and information about the Artemis II moon-circling mission, is available to watch through NASA+ on desktop, both from its official site and YouTube. The platform is also available to download as a mobile app on smartphones.
All NASA+ content is also available to those who have Prime Video downloaded on any of their devices – whether it be a smartphone or smart TV.
The content, which does not require a Prime subscription to view, is one of Prime Video’s FAST channels (free ad-supported television). Viewers can find it under Prime’s Live TV section at the top of the screen when they open the app.
Jennifer Sangalang is a lead digital producer for USA TODAY Network. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram at @byjensangalang. Support local journalism. Subscribe to the free Florida TODAY newsletter.
The City Commission must vote on the idea, too.
STUART — Permission to have backyard chickens behind single-family homes and duplexes may soon be granted to homeowners here.
The city’s Community Redevelopment Board on May 5 voted 5-2 in favor recommending the City Commission approve the idea. It would give homeowners permission to have up to four chickens.
“I’m going to be really honest here,” Board Member Bonnie Moser said. “I have chickens in my backyard.”
She got them about 18 months ago, she said, with the permission of all of her neighbors.
Backyard chickens were approved by the City Commission in June 2017, but two weeks later a commissioner backtracked his “yes” vote, killing the deal that had passed 3-2.
“My 2-year-old son loves them,” Moser added. “We eat the eggs every day.”
The chickens are fed with the family’s food scraps, and the manure fertilizes her vegetable garden, she said.
Moser suggested two changes to the proposed ordinance. One, that allows the height of the coop to be increased to 7 feet and the other that allows the height of the required fence or hedge to be reduced to 5 feet. The Community Redevelopment Board also recommended the City Commission approve those changes.
Noise and smell
Concerns about noise are overstated, Moser continued. The chickens really make noise only when they’re laying eggs, which happens in the morning or midday.
“It’s a couple of clucks and then it goes away,” she said. “As long as they’re not being attacked by anything, they’re not making noise.”
The crows and dogs on her street make more noise than the chickens, Moser said.
Smell is another concern people have about allowing chickens behind homes, which Moser also addressed.
It’s only four chickens or less, she said.
Additionally, allowing chickens can be a great educational opportunity for children, Moser said, because children think food comes from the grocery store.
“So, cat’s out of the bag,” Moser said. “I’ve got chickens. Come and get them if you want them. But know that my 2-year-old would be very sad because the highlight of his day is going out there to collect eggs every day.”
Opposition to the idea
Board Chair Frank McChrystal and Board Member Frederick James opposed the idea.
“This will just lead us to a slippery slope,” James said. “If we allow chickens, why not allow pigs?”
Martin County got it right by prohibiting chickens, McChrystal said. He polled his neighbors, who said, “They’re bringing that up again?”
McChrystal said no more about why he opposed the idea.
The fee to have chickens would be $65 annually, Stuart Development Director Jodi Kugler said.
Keith Burbank is a watchdog reporter for TCPalm, usually covering Martin County. He can be reached at keith.burbank@tcpalm.com.
The corporate website lists the store as coming soon.
But that’s not quite right.
Ever so quietly, Swig opened its first Cape Coral location on Monday, May 4, at 1121 Solaris Drive.
Word has spread quickly, and a steady stream of cars has been pulling in and out ever since.
“We’re so excited to be in Cape Coral,” said Monique LeRoy, the franchise owner of this and the recently opened Fort Myers locations. “People have been asking us to come to Cape Coral for months now.”
You’ll find it in the new Shops at Del Sol, off Pine Island Road, just west of Del Prado Boulevard. It’s in the same development as the newly opened Chicken Salad Chick and the yet to come Cigar Bar and Burrito Shak.
Swig — an extremely popular drive-thru drink chain known for its trending “dirty soda” concept — doesn’t need any advertising or social media announcements for fans of the brand to know when a new shop is open.
“People see the big inflatable cup outside, and they know,” LeRoy said.
When she opened the Fort Myers Swig in the Publix-anchored University Crossing on the northeast corner of Summerlin Road and Cypress Lake Drive back in February, there was no advertising then either. She just turned on the open sign.
“We won’t officially advertise until our grand opening,” said LeRoy, who also has a franchise in Bradenton. “That should be the weekend of (May) 29th or 30th.”
It’s during the grand opening when free drinks (24-ounces only, no blenders) and cookies (chocolate chip only) will be given to everyone who drives through.
“In Fort Myers, we gave away more than 1,200 free drinks,” she said. “We were doing over 100 orders an hour.”
In the meantime, though, Swig in Cape Coral is in its soft opening phase, with the drive-thru now open seven days a week (the lobby is closed until after the grand opening) with a full menu offered. And that menu is a lot.
Just what is Swig’s dirty soda?
Swig’s dirty soda begins with a base soda, and then a customizable mix of flavored syrups, fresh fruits, purees, and creams are added to it.
Base options include Mountain Dew (regular, diet, zero), Sprite (regular and zero), Dr. Pepper (regular, diet, zero, blackberry), Coke (regular, diet and zero), Pepsi (regular and zero), ginger ale and Fresca.
Flavors and fruits run the gamut from blue raspberry and butterscotch to toasted marshmallow and watermelon.
Then come the purees (like mango, peach and raspberry) and creams (as in coconut, chocolate, strawberry, vanilla and whipped), chills (iced or blended) and sweetness (lite, extra or extra-extra).
You can choose from one of the signature sodas like the popular Texas Tab, with Dr. Pepper, vanilla and coconut cream or the Shark Attack with Sprite, lemonade, blue raspberry and a gummy shark.
“Mojito Mamma (lemonade, mojito mint, coconut puree, coconut cream and fresh lime available for a limited time) is one of my new favorites,” LeRoy said.
Or you can pick and choose your favorite flavors to create your own customized combination. The possibilities are endless.
Drinks come in four sizes — 16, 24, 32 and 44 ounces.
But wait. There’s more.
“We also have refreshers — our water-based beverages,” LeRoy said. We have tea (sweet and unsweet), revivers, which are Swig’s version of energy drinks, cookies and pretzels. If I need a reviver, I get Drama Queen (sugar-free reviver, lemonade, with sugar-free strawberry, peach and coconut).”
And our personal favorite — frozen hot chocolate!
Cookies — sugar swirl, mini chocolate chip, and birthday cake — are served cold.
“It’s based on cookie dough,” LeRoy said. “They’re served fresh, but cold.”
And when it comes to Swig, she knows just about all there is to know.
More Swigs coming to Southwest Florida
Swig originated in St. George, Utah, where LeRoy happens to be from.
“I grew up going to Swig,” she said. “In middle school, when life was sad, I remember going and getting some pick-me-up pretzels.”
When it opened in 2010 (happy Sweet 16!), its “dirty soda” became an extremely popular alternative to coffee and alcohol in the Mormon community. Since then, the company has expanded to nearly 150 locations in 16 states.
LeRoy, who went to Utah State University with the founder of Crumbl, has personally opened three locations in the last year and aims to open 15 total.
“We’re so excited,” she said. “We haven’t found our next location yet. We’re looking in Port Charlotte, Lakewood Ranch. We’re looking in Estero and Naples. I would like to get multiple locations in Naples ASAP.”
For now, though, she’s focused on Cape Coral.
“We trained all the staff at our Fort Myers location,” LeRoy said, adding that her locations are always hiring. “So we will be able to move everyone along quicker. We always have a line ambassador outside to help you.”
And with all those options, that’s a very good thing.
Swig, 1121 Solaris Drive, Cape Coral; open 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday; swig.com or follow on Facebook and Instagram. Find the Fort Myers location at 13401 Summerlin Road at University Crossing
Robyn George is a food and dining reporter for The News-Press. Connect at rhgeorge@fortmyer.gannett.com
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