After a number of setbacks, today appears to be the day that the Artemis II rocket will launch into space, sending three NASA astronauts and one Canadian Space Agency astronaut hurling toward the moon. This is a historical mission, sending astronauts back into deep space for the first time in more than 50 years. If you’re at Walt Disney World today, you have a unique opportunity to view history from The Most Magical Place on Earth. In this article, we’ll offer some tips on how and where to watch the launch, given some of our past rocket launch viewing experience.
How & Where to Watch the Artemis II Rocket Launch at Walt Disney World
Let’s start with some need-to-know details. As of publish time of this article, the launch is currently a GO, with the liftoff time scheduled for no earlier than 6:24pm ET. The vehicle is taking off from Launch Complex 39B, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
After launching into space atop NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, the crew will journey around the Moon and back in their Orion spacecraft, named Integrity, on an approximately 10-day mission. Artemis II will be the first crewed flight test of SLS and Orion, testing the technologies we’ll need for long-term lunar exploration and human missions to Mars.
So, where would we watch the launch at Walt Disney World? First and foremost, you should know that NASA’s Kennedy Space Center is located about 60 miles east-northeast from Cinderella Castle. This provides some wonderful views of any shuttle launch from the Center.
In terms of timing, guests at Walt Disney World should be able to see the Artemis II vehicle roughly 10-30 seconds after liftoff. Here’s a chart from NASA on launch visibility range and timing. After 70 seconds, the rocket will be above 40,000 feet and out of the visibility range. All that to say is that if you plan on watching the launch, you’ll want to prioritize it because there will be a relatively short viewing window.
In terms of where to watch the launch, there are some fun landmarks inside of Walt Disney World that could provide some good views.
In the past, we’ve watched rocket launches from Tomorrowland (over Space Mountain), EPCOT (past Spaceship Earth), and Discovery Island (past Expedition Everest). There may also be a viewing opportunity over Mission: SPACE, but it’s been too cloudy on days that we’ve tried, so I can’t say for sure.
Here are some viewing directions to Launch Complex 39B past some notable Walt Disney World landmarks.
Wherever you choose to watch from, know that cloud cover could be a challenge today. In general, we would recommend trying to find as open a space as possible, ensuring that when you look to the east, there are no tall buildings or trees blocking your view.
Artemis II Livestream
To assist with your timing, we’d suggest watching a livestream, looking up from your phone shortly before liftoff, so you don’t miss the rocket if there is a stream delay.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!