SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Launch

I know it's late in sharing you this great news. I am so pre-occupied with so many things plus, my sister-in-law and her family will be spending an early Thanksgiving dinner with us, tomorrow. I know right? Oh, hubby and I can't wait and we are so excited for their visit. We almost forgot about this launch today. As I am writing this, I only have about 40 minutes left to be in the right area to watch it. I guess we will just watch it by the Indian River. We are too tired to watch it in Cape Canaveral. Anyway, this mission of the SpaceX is the first geosynchronous transfer orbit mission out of Cape Canaveral, Florida

Okay, this is Falcon 9 SES 8 communications satellite and the launch is scheduled today, November 25 at 5:37 to 6:43 PM EST at SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The mission of SES 8 is to "provide Ku-band and Ka-band direct-to-home broadcasting and network services over the Asia-Pacific region. This rocket will fly in the Falcon 9 v1.1 configuration with upgraded Merlin 1D engines, stretched fuel tanks and a payload fairing."

As I look at outside, it is cloudy and miserable. I don't know if this rocket will launch today.

Rocket Launch: Atlas V #MAVEN A Mission to Mars

I must admit that this acronym is new to my ears, MAVEN. It is obvious that I am not up to date with Science subject huh? Anyway, on Monday, another exciting event which will be happening here in the Space Coast. MAVEN which stands for Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN has a mission to explore the Red Planet’s upper atmosphere and ionosphere as well as the interactions with the sun and solar wind.

Maven is scheduled to launch at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. It is about 20 minutes from our place. One of the amazing benefits of living in the Space Coast is watching the historic launch of rocket missions. We can always hear the boom and on a clear day, we can view the rocket during liftoff right in our front yard. Maven will orbit Mars at various latitudes. This is a historic mission so; we want to see it closer. Check out MAVEN's shot tonight. What a pretty sight huh?

Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

This is a 10-month mission and the data that will be gathered will help the scientists in understanding the climate change in Mars. If you live nearby, Atlas V MAVEN will liftoff on November 18 at 1:28 PM EST. I hope you can capture the best shot and awesome video. I am not lucky though but, I will try. See you there! Before I forget, if you plan to visit Kennedy Space Center today, it is included in your ticket and they have the best seat in the Space Coast area to watch the liftoff.