Last updated on August 26, 2021

SpaceX is targeting Sunday, August 30 for an instantaneous launch of its SAOCOM 1B mission, which will launch from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. Launch is targeted for 7:18 p.m. EDT, or 23:18 UTC.

SpaceX will land Falcon 9’s first stage at SpaceX’s Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. SpaceX has landed 58 Falcon 9 first stages previously, 19 of which were landed on land and 39 of which were landed at sea using the company’s autonomous drone ships.

There is the possibility that residents of Brevard, Orange, Osceola, Indian River, Seminole, Volusia, Polk, St. Lucie, and Okeechobee County counties may hear one or more sonic booms during the landing attempt. Residents of Brevard County are most likely to hear one or more sonic boom, although what residents experience will depend on weather conditions and other factors. A sonic boom is a brief thunder-like noise that a person on the ground hears when an aircraft or other vehicle flies overhead faster than the speed of sound.

Additionally, being the first mission to launch from Florida to a polar orbit in decades, Falcon 9 will fly along Florida’s eastern coast over the ocean and may be visible from the ground. Additionally, time of launch – combined with Falcon 9’s trajectory and the position of the Sun below the horizon – may result in a bright plume, also known as the twilight effect.