Artemis II visibility map: These Florida, Georgia cities will see rocket launch to moon

Will you be able to see Artemis II fly through the night sky into space?

Nearly all of Florida, including some of those who live in the Panhandle, and those in southern Georgia, may be able to see Artemis II lift off from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on its way towards the moon – the first moon mission in some 50 years.

NASA released an image showing how visible Artemis II’s launch could be from the Space Coast.

The 40,000-foot limit

Once the rocket reaches 40,000 feet, it will be out of the visibility range, NASA said.

Those furthest away should be able to see Artemis II’s launch as well as its flight for the first 70 seconds. 

The rocket’s flight path and trajectory, as well as local weather forecasts, could change how visible it is in certain areas. 

Will you hear the Artemis launch?

While this is not producing a “sonic boom” — nothing is returning to Earth — you may hear the rocket take off and the loud, rolling rumble that goes inland.

An east breeze will aid in the sound waves being heard closer to the I-4 corridor. 

In the graphic above, the extent of the yellow would be about three-and-a-half minutes after launch to be heard. Humidity also plays a big role in hearing it farther away.

Watch Artemis II rocket launch live

NASA is targeting Wednesday, April 1, at 6:24 p.m. for the launch of Artemis II from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39B. FOX 35 will be streaming all day on FOX Local and FOX35Orlando.com.

NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen will fly to the moon’s orbit and back to Earth on a 10-day mission to not only test the technological capabilities of flying to deep space and back, but also how deep space impacts humans.