Florida

SpaceX weekend rocket launch from Florida. Best places to watch

Published

5 months ago

January 17, 2026

SpaceX weekend rocket launch from Florida. Best places to watch

Who’s up for a nighttime launch this weekend? A rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, is scheduled to lift off.

SpaceX plans to send a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 29 Starlink internet satellites into low-Earth orbit on Sunday, Jan. 18.

Rockets here launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center near Merritt Island, Florida, or Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, and people in and around Brevard County usually have the best chance at seeing this phenomenon in the sky.

Weather permitting and depending on cloud cover and trajectory, a rocket launch from Florida’s Space Coast is sometimes visible as far north as Jacksonville Beach and Daytona Beach and as far south as Vero Beach and West Palm Beach.

When there’s a nighttime launch window 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 the next rocket launch from Florida and suggestions on where to watch it in person (or virtually via the USA TODAY Network’s Space Team).

For questions or comments, email FLORIDA TODAY Space Reporter Rick Neale at rneale@floridatoday.com or Space Reporter Brooke Edwards at bedwards@floridatoday.com. For more space news from the USA TODAY Network, visit floridatoday.com/space.

When is the next SpaceX rocket launch in Florida? Sunday, January 18, SpaceX Starlink 6-100

Mission: A SpaceX Falcon 9 will launch 29 Starlink internet satellites into low-Earth orbit.
Launch window: 5:04 p.m. to 9:04 p.m. ET on Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026
Trajectory: Southeast
Location: Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
Sonic booms: No
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.

Where to watch the next SpaceX rocket launch from Space Coast of Florida

Pretty much anywhere in Brevard, you’ll get a view of the rocket launch − in certain areas, you can get an amazing view of SpaceX rocket boosters returning to the pads. The best view to watch a rocket launch from the Space Coast is along the beach. However, visibility will depend on weather conditions and people should make sure not to block traffic or rights of way on bridges and to follow posted rules at beaches.

If you are viewing the launch along the Indian River in Titusville from Space View Park or Parrish Park, look east directly across the river.

If you are farther south along the Indian River, look northeast.

Playalinda Beach or Canaveral National Seashore is the closest spot to view liftoff because it is almost parallel to Launch Pad 39A. On the beach, look south along the coastline, (you can even see the pad from some spots).

Some hotspots to check out:

Jetty Park Beach and Pier, 400 Jetty Park Road, Port Canaveral. Note, there’s a charge to park.
Playalinda Beach, 1000 Playalinda Beach Road, Canaveral National Seashore. Note, there’s a charge to park, and access to Canaveral National Seashore isn’t always granted depending on capacity and time of day.
Max Brewer Bridge and Parrish Park, 1 A. Max Brewer Memorial Parkway, Titusville. Note, parking is available on both sides of Max Brewer Bridge.
Space View Park, 8 Broad St., Titusville
Sand Point Park, 10 E. Max Brewer Causeway, Titusville
Rotary Riverfront Park, 4141 S. Washington Ave., Titusville
Riverfront Park at Cocoa Village, 401 Riveredge Blvd., Cocoa (just before State Road 520 Causeway)
Cocoa Village, near the parks and shops or near the docks
Various parks on Merritt Island
Rotary Park, 1899 S. Courtenay Parkway, Merritt Island
Kiwanis Park on Kiwanis Island Park Road on Merritt Island
Port Canaveral, with ships from Disney Cruise Line, Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean at port
Alan Shepard Park, 299 E. Cocoa Beach Causeway, Cocoa Beach. Note, there could be parking costs.
Cocoa Beach Pier, 401 Meade Ave. Parking fee varies.
Lori Wilson Park, 1400 N. Atlantic Ave., Cocoa Beach. Lori Wilson Park has a dog park, by the way.
Sidney Fischer Park, 2200 N. Atlantic Ave., Cocoa Beach. Note, there could be parking costs.
Downtown Cocoa Beach, along Minutemen Causeway
Tables Beach, 197 SR A1A, Satellite Beach
The Tides on SR A1A in Satellite Beach
Various parks, including the Pelican Beach Clubhouse, in Satellite Beach
Pineda Causeway
Eau Gallie Causeway
Front Street Park near Melbourne (U.S. 192) Causeway and U.S. 1 in Melbourne
Indialantic boardwalk at Melbourne Causeway and SR A1A
Paradise Beach Park, aka Howard Futch Park, 2301 SR A1A, Melbourne (this is a beachside park)
Sebastian Inlet Park, 9700 S. State Road A1A, Melbourne Beach (there is a cost to enter)

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Florida

7 of our favorite Florida restaurants in Vero Beach and Fellsmere

Published

8 hours ago

June 20, 2026

Press Room

7 of our favorite Florida restaurants in Vero Beach and Fellsmere

TCPalm staff share their top restaurant recommendations in Vero Beach, Sebastian, Fellsmere.

Indian River County is home to many unique restaurants, far too many to choose from.

There are so many restaurants on the Treasure Coast to try, but it can be hard knowing where to start.

Here are the TCPalm staff’s recommendations for restaurants in Vero Beach, Sebastian and Fellsmere.

Indian River County restaurant recommendations

Olivia Franklin is TCPalm’s trending reporter. You can contact her at olivia.franklin@tcpalm.com, 317-627-8048 or follow her on X @Livvvvv_5.

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Florida

Pilot program aims to build $200K homes in Central Florida to help low-income families buy, not rent

Published

18 hours ago

June 19, 2026

Press Room

Pilot program aims to build 0K homes in Central Florida to help low-income families buy, not rent

ORLANDO, Fla. – For many Central Florida families, the dream of owning a home feels further out of reach than ever.

With the median home price now topping $400,000, a new pilot program in Orlando is trying to change that by building new homes for about half the cost.

A lot off Quill Avenue in Parramore may not look like much right now, but organizers say it could soon be the site of a new home priced around $200,000 for low-income families.

“We just really wanted an opportunity to bring actual affordable housing to people who have basically been forever renters,” said Satrina Whithead with the GXVE Homes Initiative.

The GXVE Homes Initiative says the goal is to help families earning between $16,000 and $65,000 a year get a chance at homeownership. Whithead said the homes could range from 500 to 1,400 square feet, depending on the lot size and location.

The Orlando Regional Realtor Association reports the median home price in the area is now more than $400,000. Whithead said GXVE hopes to sell homes for about half that.

“There’s nothing wrong with profit, but at the end of the day, I want to help where the need is greatest,” Whithead said.

Organizers say they are already planning to build in Parramore and are working to close on two additional properties. They also say they have properties planned in Sanford and Mims, with a goal of bringing eight homes a year to Central Florida.

“You can pay 80 percent of your salary on rent just to have a place to live. So getting that number back down to around 50 percent is extremely important,” said Mike Harris, vice president of GXVE Homes.

Florida Made Tiny Homes, which is partnering with the organization, said it plans to build concrete homes that exceed safety requirements for the area.

“I don’t think there’s going to be anything available on the market in that price range, much less new construction,” said Dylan Grace, co-founder of Florida Made Tiny Homes.

Program organizers say they expect to start construction in the fall and hope to complete the first home within six to eight months after work begins. For more information please click here.

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Florida

Ex-Florida juvenile probation officer accused of leaking court info to drug traffickers

Published

1 day ago

June 19, 2026

Press Room

Ex-Florida juvenile probation officer accused of leaking court info to drug traffickers

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) — A former Florida juvenile probation officer is facing more than 100 felony charges after investigators said she leaked confidential court and law enforcement information to people tied to a drug trafficking investigation.

Crystal Gaynell Ann Lawson was booked into the Orange County Jail on Thursday, according to Orange County Corrections records.

Investigators said Lawson improperly accessed the Comprehensive Case Information System, or CCIS, more than 100 times and shared information from active criminal cases with members of a drug trafficking organization.

FOX 35 Orlando reported Lawson was arrested on 113 felony counts of computer crimes for unauthorized access. Investigators said she allegedly accessed the database 106 times between January and May.

Lawson is accused of using the database to search for active criminal cases tied to members of the organization. Authorities said some of the information that was leaked included arrest warrants and documents connected to an active investigation.

Lawson was hired by the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice in February 2022. As part of that job, she was given access to the CCIS database. Authorities said she was fired later that year after an arrest, but her database access was not terminated.

See also: ‘Elf,’ ‘Couples Retreat’ actor jailed with no bond after Florida arrest

Investigators said the leaks resulted in lost evidence, unrecovered assets and at least one person fleeing to avoid arrest before later being taken into custody.

Lawson previously worked for the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, where she had access to the court information system as part of her job. Authorities said she was later fired, but her database access was not terminated.

Orange County Corrections records list Lawson’s case status as “presentenced” and show multiple entries for “offense against computer users.”

The records list the arresting agency as the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and show bond amounts of $10,000 on several listed case sequences. The jail record also notes an “ICJIS Affidavit.”

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