1. Identify the flight and its time zone
Match the mission name, operator and launch site before choosing a broadcast. A rocket family can fly many missions, so the vehicle name alone is not enough. Open Details for the selected mission and compare it with the operator’s mission announcement.
Read the time-zone label beside the displayed time. UTC is not your local clock. For example, 23:30 UTC on a given date is 20:30 in a location using UTC−3, while in UTC+2 it is 01:30 on the following date. This is an illustrative conversion; check the offset applicable to your location on the launch date.
2. Treat the listed time as a target
The schedule uses The Space Devs Launch Library 2. Its NET field means “no earlier than.” A precise timestamp can still be provisional. TBD means the timing or readiness remains uncertain, and Hold indicates a pause. A Go status is not a promise that the flight will leave at that instant.
This site caches provider responses to limit requests. Refreshing your browser does not force the operator or the data provider to issue a new update. Check the operator again before arranging your day around a launch, particularly when a weather or technical delay has been announced.
3. Confirm the broadcast belongs to this mission
A video link can lead to a scheduled broadcast, a channel, or a replay. Check its title and date against the mission details. A visible Watch button means a video link is available; it does not establish that the launch is currently live.
For NASA coverage, start from NASA Live and follow the listed programme. For another operator, use the operator’s own mission announcement to confirm its broadcast. A video countdown can refer to the start of coverage rather than liftoff, and playback may lag the event.
4. Check what happened after zero
The tracker’s countdown uses the scheduled timestamp. Once that time passes, it measures elapsed time from the target; it does not independently detect ignition. If the operator announces a scrub or a new window, use that announcement until the database catches up.
Watch for stage separation, orbital insertion and payload deployment as separate milestones. A successful booster landing does not confirm that the payload is already delivered. Keep the mission page open until the operator reports the outcome you are trying to follow.
Planning to watch in person
Confirm access, viewing hours and any reservation requirements with the viewing-site operator for that mission. A location that appears near the pad on a map may be closed or have an obstructed horizon. Build room for postponements into your plans; a launch-window listing is not an admission ticket.
If our schedule is unavailable, consult the operator directly and return later. The site now leaves the schedule unavailable instead of substituting demonstration missions. That keeps an outage from becoming an apparently confirmed date.