TUCSON, Ariz. — >> Editor's Note: The launch has been pushed to Saturday, March 30. Read more here.
A SpaceX launch scheduled for Thursday evening has been rescheduled for sometime on Saturday.
The launch will be visible in the western Arizona sky.
VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL: El lanzamiento del cohete SpaceX será visible en Arizona
The planned Falcon 9 launch mission will send 22 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Liftoff is set for 7:30 p.m., with backup opportunities available until 11:30 p.m.
This marks the 15th flight of the initial stage booster backing this mission.
After the separation of stages, the initial stage is set to make a landing on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship, stationed in the Pacific Ocean.
UP TO SPEED
What is the Valley?:
“The Valley” is what locals call the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is considered the largest metropolitan area in the Southwest.
The Valley is made up of various major cities other than Phoenix, including:
- Mesa
- Chandler
- Scottsdale
- Tempe
- Glendale
- Surprise
- Peoria
- Gilbert
- El Mirage
- Avondale
- Litchfield Park
- Goodyear
- Buckeye
Whether a city is in the “East Valley” or “West Valley” depends on where it is in relation to Phoenix.
The cities of the Valley have a combined population of 4,845,832 people, according to the 2020 United States Census. This makes it the 11th largest metropolitan area in the country right behind the Boston and Atlanta areas.
How big is Maricopa County?
Maricopa County is the United States’ 4th largest county in terms of population with 4,485,414 people, according to the 2020 Census.
The county contains around 63% of Arizona’s population and is 9,224 square miles. That makes the county larger than seven U.S. states (Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New Hampshire).
One of the largest park systems in the nation is also located in Maricopa County. The county has an estimated 120,000 acres of open space parks that includes hundreds of miles of trails, nature centers and campgrounds.
The county’s seat is located in Phoenix, which is also the state capital and the census-designated 5th most populous city in the United States.
The county was named after the Maricopa, or Piipaash, Native American Tribe.
