USA TODAY NETWORK Once again, SpaceX's famous two-stage Falcon 9 rocket will get off the ground to deliver a batch of Starlink satellites into orbit. The rocket launch will also be widely visible for many spectators across both California and even neighboring Arizona. For the third time in a week, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will blast off over Southern California to deliver Starlink satellites into orbit. The next rocket launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Southern California is due to liftoff Friday, May 16. The impending mission is the third Starlink satellite deployment that Elon Musk's commercial spaceflight company has conducted within a week from the California launch site. Once again, SpaceX's famous two-stage Falcon 9 rocket will get off the ground to deliver a batch of 26 internet-beaming satellites into what's called low-Earth orbit – an altitude that allows for things like satellites to circle Earth fairly quickly. SpaceX always provides livestreams of its Starlink missions for the public to follow along, but for Californians, seeing the rocket launch may be as easy as stepping outside and looking up. Here's what to know about the launch, as well as when and where to watch it: What time is the SpaceX rocket launch from California? The launch is targeted for 6:43 a.m. PT (9:43 a.m. ET) Friday, May 16, according to a launch alert from Vandenberg Space Force Base. If SpaceX opts to scrub the launch, backup opportunities are available starting at 10:32 a.m. PT Saturday, May 17, according to a Federal Aviation Administration operations plan advisory. The launch, using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to deliver the Starlink satellites, will take place from Launch Complex 4E from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, California. Following the delivery and deployment of the satellites, the Falcon 9 rocket's first stage 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. Will there be sonic booms? Residents of Santa Barbara County, San Luis Obispo County and Ventura County could hear sonic booms, according to Vandenberg's alert. 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. How to watch SpaceX Starlink launch from Vandenberg, California 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 Vandenberg Space Force Base in Vandenberg, California, 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, has 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, One 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 St & McLaughlin Road, located within 10 miles of the launch site, is filled with large fields for activities or for spectators to set up chairs. What is SpaceX? Space Exploration Technologies Corp., more widely known as SpaceX, is an astronautics company owned and co-founded by Elon Musk, the world's richest man. The commercial spaceflight company is contracted with NASA and the Department of Defense to use many of its spacecraft to help launch government missions. SpaceX also conducts many of its own rocket launches – most using its two-stage Falcon 9 rocket – including for private crewed missions and to deliver communication satellites to orbit.