Launches · Starship · Starbase, Texas
Flight 8: who could see the launch
SpaceX's Starship launched Flight 8 from Starbase, Texas at 5:30 PM CST on Thursday, March 6, 2025.
The flight failed.
It flew east, out over the Gulf.
It was a daytime launch, so only places within about 200 km (125 miles) had a real chance of spotting it.
Close enough to spot in daylight: Brownsville and McAllen.
When a rocket breaks up high and far downrange, the falling pieces can be seen much farther away than the table below shows.
Can I see it from my city? 78 cities within 1,500 km
| City | Distance | Look toward | Highest | When | View | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brownsville, Texas | 36 km (22 mi) | east | 33° | 5:30–5:38 PM CST | Daylight: look for a bright dot | 36 km (22 mi) · look east · up to 33° · 5:30–5:38 PM CST |
| McAllen, Texas | 110 km (68 mi) | east | 22° | 5:31–5:38 PM CST | Daylight: look for a bright dot | 110 km (68 mi) · look east · up to 22° · 5:31–5:38 PM CST |
59 cities in a bright sky, too far to pick it out
Corpus Christi, Laredo, Monterrey, San Antonio, Pearland, Houston, Austin, Round Rock, College Station, Beaumont, Killeen, Waco, San Angelo, Lafayette, León de los Aldama, Tyler, Ecatepec de Morelos, Fort Worth, Dallas, Mexico City, Abilene, Baton Rouge, Puebla, Plano, Lewisville, Shreveport, McKinney, Denton, Midland, New Orleans, Odessa, Wichita Falls, Jackson, Mobile, Little Rock, Pensacola, Navarre, Fort Walton Beach, Crestview, Panama City, Memphis, Montgomery, Birmingham, Tallahassee, Columbus, Huntsville, Clearwater, Tarpon Springs, St. Petersburg, Bayonet Point, Sarasota, Venice, Tampa, Spring Hill, Wesley Chapel, North Port, Valrico, Nashville, Murfreesboro
17 cities where it stays below the horizon
Guadalajara, Lubbock, Norman, Oklahoma City, Juárez, El Paso, Amarillo, Broken Arrow, Tulsa, Las Cruces, Springfield, Wichita, Albuquerque, Olathe, Topeka, Kansas City, Clarksville
From where you are
Not near one of these cities? or pick a place:
The launch
- Liftoff
- Mar 6, 2025, 5:30 PM CST
- Status
- Launch failed
- Rocket
- Starship (SpaceX)
- Mission
- Flight 8
- Pad
- Orbital Launch Pad 1, SpaceX Starbase, TX, USA
Minute by minute
A rocket at night looks like a bright, steady light climbing slowly, often with a glowing trail. After two or three minutes it gets smaller as it heads downrange, and you may see the first stage drop away.
Did you see it?
These reports came in around liftoff, and our sky checks matched them to this launch.
Coming up next
How we work this out: we follow a typical climb to orbit (about 70 km up two and a half minutes after liftoff, and about 210 km up and 1,400 km downrange after eight) in the direction the rocket flies, then work out how high above each city's horizon it gets and how dark that city's sky is. Clouds, hills and city lights aren't included. Launch times come from Launch Library 2 by The Space Devs. More on our methods.