What this is
SpaceX is launching a rocket called Falcon 9 from Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA. It is for United States Space Force. A polar path goes over the top and bottom of Earth, so the satellite can eventually see the whole world.
SpaceX is flying a Falcon 9 from Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA. Mission: WSF-M2 & BLAZE-2 (USSF-178). Second Weather System Follow-on (WSF) satellite. WSF-M (Weather System Follow-on - Microwave) is the next-generation operational environmental satellite system for the Department of Defense (DoD), to replace the microwave wavelength weather forecasting capabilities of the DMSP satellites. Ball Aerospace has been selected in late November 2017 to be the prime contractor for 2 () weather satellites with a passive microwave imaging radiometer instrument and hosted Government furnished energetic charged particle (ECP) sensor space weather payload developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory. The radiometer leverages the Ball-built Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Microwave Imager (GMI) instrument. This mission will improve weather forecasting over maritime regions by taking global measurements of the atmosphere and ocean surface. The launch will also include BLAZE-2, a launch opportunity for operational, research, development, and prototype small satellites from across the DoD. Planned orbit: . Status: To Be Determined. Current date is a placeholder or rough estimation based on unreliable or interpreted sources. The published time can still slip. Rockets wait for weather, boats, and the range.
From here
Too far to see
You will not see this rocket from Centennial, Colorado. It is about 930 miles west. The broadcast is the view.
That is too far for the flame and, for almost every launch, too far for the high-altitude plume. Dim the lights and watch together anyway. The clock is still loose, so daylight is a guess.
