SpaceX Schedules Dragon Resupply Launch Visible From North Carolina

Residents across North Carolina had an opportunity to spot a SpaceX rocket in the eastern sky Tuesday morning, October 13, as a Falcon 9 was scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 6:33 a.m. Eastern time. The flight was part of a cargo resupply mission to the orbiting laboratory.

According to the SpaceX website, the launch schedule gave observers in North Carolina a chance to see the rocket from a distance. Visibility depended on viewing conditions, and the company identified the Florida spaceport as the launch site.

The launch involved the CRS-35 mission, the 35th flight in Dragon's Commercial Resupply Services program. SpaceX estimated that the journey would take approximately 52 hours before the spacecraft reached its destination.

According to SpaceX, Dragon was scheduled to autonomously dock with the orbiting laboratory on Thursday at 11 a.m. The planned arrival followed the spacecraft's journey from Florida and marked the next major milestone in the resupply mission.

The launch also offered skywatchers across North Carolina an opportunity to document the event. WRAL invited people who saw the rocket to submit photographs and videos through its ReportIt service.

WRAL cameras in Garner and Carolina Beach captured the rocket's vapor trail, while viewers submitted photographs from Raleigh, Fuquay-Varina, Clayton and other locations. These observations documented the launch's visibility across multiple communities in the state.