Watch a rocket launch LIVE!

Witness liftoff of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, launching a classified spacecraft payload for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office into space.

There is nothing quite like it on Earth. Watching a rocket launch from a few miles away provides a unique perspective on the technology and power required to send spacecraft into Earth orbit. The countdown to liftoff begins with the flash of fire and smoke as the rocket engines ignite. Initially, ascent seems slower than it should as the rocket fuel does its job of propelling giant machinery toward space. Seconds later, the rocket soars overhead as the delayed rumble of the engines becomes a roar that vibrates through the landscape and the viewers close enough to feel the effects. 

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex offers the closest public viewing of launches from Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Though launches from Kennedy Space Center have been on hiatus since the retirement of the Space Shuttle Program, the launch schedule at Cape Canaveral AFS is packed with satellite launches and International Space Station resupply missions.

Each launch follows safety precautions determined by the United States Air Force Eastern Test Range, which in turn determines the viewing areas available to visitors. Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex provides four viewing area options: outside of Space Shuttle Atlantis at the main visitor complex, Banana Creek viewing area at Apollo/Saturn V Center, NASA Causeway and the closest viewing found at the LC-39 Observation Gantry just 3 miles/~5 km away!

Not all viewing areas are available for every launch. However, since the visitor complex is open every day, launch viewing is always available from the main visitor complex with daily admission if the launch takes place during operating hours.