If you’re stepping outside tonight hoping to catch a glimpse of a "Starlink train" or a Falcon 9 punching through the clouds, timing is literally everything. Honestly, it’s easy to get frustrated. You check a tracker, it says "Go," and then you realize the countdown was for a different time zone or the launch happened while you were still brewing coffee.
So, let's get right to it. Where is the SpaceX launch today? Technically, the big action for today—Saturday, January 17, 2026—just wrapped up in the early morning hours, but there’s a massive backup window and a rollout you need to know about. The primary mission everyone is talking about is NROL-105. This isn’t your average internet satellite haul. It’s a national security heavyweight for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).
The Vandenberg Situation
The NROL-105 mission officially cleared the pad at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. If you missed the primary liftoff at 8:39 p.m. PT last night (which was 11:39 p.m. ET), you might be looking for the backup. SpaceX almost always reserves a 24-hour backup window for these classified flights.
The backup opportunity for NROL-105 is slated for 8:04 p.m. PT tonight, Saturday, Jan 17.
Vandenberg is a unique beast. Unlike the flat marshes of Florida, California launches offer that spectacular "twilight phenomenon." If the sun is just below the horizon while the rocket is high in the atmosphere, the exhaust plume expands into a glowing, iridescent nebula. People from San Diego all the way up to San Francisco often mistake it for a UFO.
Why Today is Actually About the Moon
While the Falcon 9 is the workhorse, the real "launch" vibes today are happening at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It’s not a liftoff, but it’s just as critical.
NASA and SpaceX are currently rolling the Artemis II Moon rocket (the SLS stack) out to Launch Pad 39B. This started around 7:00 a.m. ET this morning. If you are in Titusville or Merritt Island, you won't see fire in the sky, but you’ll see the 11-million-pound stack moving at a blistering one mile per hour on the crawler-transporter.
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This is the hardware that will carry humans—including Commander Jared Isaacman—back toward the Moon. Seeing it on the pad today is the definitive "pre-game" for the actual mission.
Where is the SpaceX launch today vs. tomorrow?
SpaceX doesn't really believe in days off anymore. If you’re at Cape Canaveral and disappointed that today's schedule looks a bit quiet on the fire-breathing front, just wait 24 hours.
- Target Site: Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, SLC-40.
- Mission: Starlink Group 6-100.
- Scheduled Time: Sunday, Jan 18, at approximately 5:04 p.m. ET.
This is the 100th launch of the "Group 6" series. It’s a milestone. They are packing 29 of the V2 Mini satellites into the fairing. These are the beefed-up versions that provide more capacity than the older models you might have seen back in 2023.
The Secretive Side of NROL-105
Since today’s primary focus (and backup window) is the NROL-105 mission, you should know why the livestream probably felt "off" if you watched it.
SpaceX usually shows the entire flight—from ignition to satellite deployment. But with NRO missions? They cut the feed right after the first-stage booster sticks the landing. The government doesn't want the world seeing exactly how many spy satellites are being deployed or what direction they’re heading.
This specific mission is building out the "Proliferated Architecture." Basically, instead of having one or two massive, billion-dollar satellites that are easy targets, the NRO is putting up hundreds of smaller, cheaper ones. It’s safety in numbers. If one goes down, the network stays up. SpaceX is basically the delivery driver for this new era of orbital surveillance.
How to actually catch a launch without failing
Look, I’ve missed enough launches to know that "Official Schedules" are often just "Optimistic Suggestions."
- The 10% Rule: If the weather forecast shows more than a 10% chance of lightning, don't drive three hours to the beach. SpaceX is bold, but they won't fly through a thunderstorm.
- Sonic Booms: If you’re near Lompoc or Santa Maria for the Vandenberg backup tonight, don't jump out of your skin. When that booster comes back to land on Landing Zone 4, it breaks the sound barrier twice. It sounds like a double-thump that can rattle windows.
- The X Feed: Forget the third-party trackers for a second. The SpaceX account on X (formerly Twitter) is the only place where "Hold, Hold, Hold" is announced in real-time.
What most people get wrong about the "today" search
The biggest mistake is assuming there is only one "SpaceX." Right now, they are operating out of three major hubs:
- Starbase (Texas): This is for Starship. There is no Starship flight today, though the "Flight 12" vehicle is currently undergoing pad tests.
- The Cape/Kennedy (Florida): Primarily Starlink and Crew missions.
- Vandenberg (California): Polar orbits and secret government stuff.
If you are looking for the SpaceX launch today and you're on the East Coast, your best bet is watching the Artemis II rollout or prep for tomorrow’s Starlink. If you're on the West Coast, keep your eyes on the 8:04 p.m. backup window for the NRO mission.
One thing is certain: SpaceX is currently launching at a rate of roughly once every 2.5 days. If you miss the one today, you're usually less than 48 hours away from the next one.
To stay ahead of the next window, keep a close watch on the booster tail numbers. For tomorrow's Starlink flight, they're using B1080, which is a legendary booster making its 24th flight. Watching a piece of hardware that has been to space and back two dozen times is arguably more impressive than the launch itself.
Check the local weather at the Cape for Sunday afternoon. Currently, the "Probability of Violation" is sitting at 20%, mostly due to cumulus cloud rules. If that holds, the Florida launch tomorrow is a go.
Stay updated on the live T-minus clock through the official SpaceX app or their YouTube channel, which typically goes live about 15 minutes before the internal liquid oxygen loading begins.