Where to watch the Starlink launch in California Because Vandenberg is an active military base, the launch complex does not host public viewings of launches. But if conditions are clear, rocket launches from the Vandenberg Space Force Base can be viewed from several locations as far as Santa Barbara and Los Angeles. Space Launch Schedule, a website dedicated to tracking upcoming rocket launches, provided a list of places in California to catch the launch in person: 13th Street and Arguello Boulevard, the public site with the closest views of SpaceX launches Floradale Avenue and West Ocean Avenue, officially designated as the “viewing site for SLC-6” (space launch complex-6) Renwick Avenue and West Ocean Avenue, another intersection close to the base where spectators can park Santa Lucia Canyon Road and Victory Road, provides a partial view of Complex 4 Surf Beach on Ocean Avenue, the only location where the public can view the ignition and liftoff of rockets from Complex 4. Public access is at the Amtrak Surf Station parking area, but the area is closed in the case of back-to-back launches. The city of Lompoc in Santa Barbara County is filled with places to catch a rocket launch. The city's tourism bureau, Explore Lompoc, even maintains this list with additional viewing locations: Ocean Park, 6851 Ocean Park Road, which, while it doesn't have a view of the launch pad itself, is located only four miles from the launch site and provides a good vantage to see rockets get off the ground. Parking is limited, and law enforcement will close the road to the beach once parking is full. Allan Hancock College, 1 Hancock Drive, a community college located nine miles from the launch site where both the launch pad and rocket's tip can be seen before liftoff. Riverbend Park, N A Street and McLaughlin Road, located within 10 miles of the launch site, is filled with large fields for activities or for spectators to set up chairs. Will there be sonic booms? Residents of Santa Barbara County, San Luis Obispo County and Ventura County, California, could hear sonic booms, according to Vandenberg Space Force Base. Sonic booms are brief, thunder-like noises that are often heard from the ground when a spacecraft or aircraft travels faster than the speed of sound. What to know about reentry Following the launch, the Falcon 9 rocket's booster will aim to land on a SpaceX drone ship, nicknamed "Of Course I Still Love You," in the Pacific Ocean. This allows for SpaceX personnel to recover the booster so it can be reused in future spaceflights. What is SpaceX?