Long March 7A | Unknown Payload — visibility, launch time & where to look
Details TBD.
Launch time
- Jul 17, 2026, 11:50 AM UTC
- Jul 17, 2026, 7:50 AM Eastern
- Jul 17, 2026, 4:50 AM Pacific
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Sky outlook at the pad
Daily cloud cover and rain chance at Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China:
- Today
- Wed
- Thu
- Fri Launch day
Forecast at the launch site; check your own sky too — cloud over you can hide a launch the pad forecast says is clear.
Pro members get the 7-day outlook for their own saved locations + a weather go/no-go call. Pro — $19.99/yr
🪼 Space-jellyfish watch: High chance
This is a dusk twilight launch — the setup for the glowing “space jellyfish” plume that makes the news. Watch T+3–5 min after liftoff, when the exhaust climbs out of Earth’s shadow into sunlight.
Prime jellyfish conditions: liftoff in evening twilight with the Sun 7.7° below the horizon. Observers are in darkness while the exhaust plume climbs into direct sunlight around T+3–5 min, where it can fan out into a glowing “space jellyfish.” No guarantee — plume brightness varies with the rocket and weather — but the geometry is as good as it gets.
New to the phenomenon? What a space jellyfish is — and how we predict it →
Pro members get jellyfish alerts before twilight launches → Pro — $19.99/yr
Which cities can see this launch?
Estimated visibility from major towns near US launch sites, assuming clear skies and an open horizon. The 10 most likely first:
| City | Visibility | Look toward | Distance to pad |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose, CA | Not visible | — | 7213 mi |
| Fresno, CA | Not visible | — | 7330 mi |
| San Luis Obispo, CA | Not visible | — | 7357 mi |
| Pismo Beach, CA | Not visible | — | 7364 mi |
| Guadalupe, CA | Not visible | — | 7374 mi |
| Santa Maria, CA | Not visible | — | 7381 mi |
| Orcutt, CA | Not visible | — | 7385 mi |
| Vandenberg Village, CA | Not visible | — | 7390 mi |
| Lompoc, CA | Not visible | — | 7394 mi |
| Los Alamos, CA | Not visible | — | 7397 mi |
Show all 94 cities
| City | Visibility | Look toward | Distance to pad |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buellton, CA | Not visible | — | 7407 mi |
| Solvang, CA | Not visible | — | 7409 mi |
| Bakersfield, CA | Not visible | — | 7423 mi |
| Santa Barbara, CA | Not visible | — | 7436 mi |
| Ventura, CA | Not visible | — | 7461 mi |
| Oxnard, CA | Not visible | — | 7469 mi |
| Mojave, CA | Not visible | — | 7474 mi |
| Thousand Oaks, CA | Not visible | — | 7485 mi |
| Malibu, CA | Not visible | — | 7497 mi |
| Pasadena, CA | Not visible | — | 7516 mi |
| Los Angeles, CA | Not visible | — | 7516 mi |
| Long Beach, CA | Not visible | — | 7531 mi |
| San Diego, CA | Not visible | — | 7624 mi |
| Philadelphia, PA | Not visible | — | 8302 mi |
| Baltimore, MD | Not visible | — | 8337 mi |
| Ocean City, NJ | Not visible | — | 8352 mi |
| Dover, DE | Not visible | — | 8354 mi |
| Annapolis, MD | Not visible | — | 8360 mi |
| Washington, DC | Not visible | — | 8360 mi |
| Cape May, NJ | Not visible | — | 8373 mi |
| Rehoboth Beach, DE | Not visible | — | 8387 mi |
| Salisbury, MD | Not visible | — | 8408 mi |
| Ocean City, MD | Not visible | — | 8413 mi |
| Berlin, MD | Not visible | — | 8414 mi |
| Pocomoke City, MD | Not visible | — | 8429 mi |
| Chincoteague, VA | Not visible | — | 8439 mi |
| Wallops Island, VA | Not visible | — | 8444 mi |
| Richmond, VA | Not visible | — | 8450 mi |
| Onancock, VA | Not visible | — | 8452 mi |
| Exmore, VA | Not visible | — | 8464 mi |
| Cape Charles, VA | Not visible | — | 8480 mi |
| Newport News, VA | Not visible | — | 8489 mi |
| Norfolk, VA | Not visible | — | 8507 mi |
| Virginia Beach, VA | Not visible | — | 8509 mi |
| Laredo, TX | Not visible | — | 8596 mi |
| Rockport, TX | Not visible | — | 8651 mi |
| Corpus Christi, TX | Not visible | — | 8652 mi |
| Port Aransas, TX | Not visible | — | 8661 mi |
| Myrtle Beach, SC | Not visible | — | 8697 mi |
| McAllen, TX | Not visible | — | 8715 mi |
| Harlingen, TX | Not visible | — | 8734 mi |
| Charleston, SC | Not visible | — | 8746 mi |
| Bayview, TX | Not visible | — | 8748 mi |
| Los Fresnos, TX | Not visible | — | 8749 mi |
| Laguna Vista, TX | Not visible | — | 8753 mi |
| South Padre Island, TX | Not visible | — | 8758 mi |
| Brownsville, TX | Not visible | — | 8758 mi |
| Port Isabel, TX | Not visible | — | 8758 mi |
| Hilton Head Island, SC | Not visible | — | 8772 mi |
| Gulf Shores, AL | Not visible | — | 8775 mi |
| Savannah, GA | Not visible | — | 8777 mi |
| Pensacola Beach, FL | Not visible | — | 8782 mi |
| Grand Isle, LA | Not visible | — | 8784 mi |
| Valdosta, GA | Not visible | — | 8825 mi |
| Tallahassee, FL | Not visible | — | 8833 mi |
| Brunswick, GA | Not visible | — | 8833 mi |
| Jacksonville, FL | Not visible | — | 8885 mi |
| St. Augustine, FL | Not visible | — | 8919 mi |
| Gainesville, FL | Not visible | — | 8920 mi |
| Palm Coast, FL | Not visible | — | 8942 mi |
| Daytona Beach, FL | Not visible | — | 8970 mi |
| New Smyrna Beach, FL | Not visible | — | 8983 mi |
| Sanford, FL | Not visible | — | 8994 mi |
| Orlando, FL | Not visible | — | 9009 mi |
| Mims, FL | Not visible | — | 9010 mi |
| Titusville, FL | Not visible | — | 9013 mi |
| Kissimmee, FL | Not visible | — | 9025 mi |
| Port Canaveral, FL | Not visible | — | 9030 mi |
| Tampa, FL | Not visible | — | 9030 mi |
| Merritt Island, FL | Not visible | — | 9032 mi |
| Rockledge, FL | Not visible | — | 9033 mi |
| Lakeland, FL | Not visible | — | 9033 mi |
| Cocoa Beach, FL | Not visible | — | 9036 mi |
| Satellite Beach, FL | Not visible | — | 9045 mi |
| Melbourne, FL | Not visible | — | 9052 mi |
| Indialantic, FL | Not visible | — | 9052 mi |
| Palm Bay, FL | Not visible | — | 9056 mi |
| Sebastian, FL | Not visible | — | 9071 mi |
| Vero Beach, FL | Not visible | — | 9084 mi |
| Fort Pierce, FL | Not visible | — | 9098 mi |
| Port St. Lucie, FL | Not visible | — | 9110 mi |
| West Palm Beach, FL | Not visible | — | 9152 mi |
| Fort Lauderdale, FL | Not visible | — | 9190 mi |
| Miami, FL | Not visible | — | 9214 mi |
Where to look
A rocket lifts off below the horizon for distant viewers, then climbs into view as it gains altitude and flies downrange. Closer to the pad you'll see it within seconds; a few hundred miles away it can take three to six minutes to rise over the horizon. Find an open view in the direction shown for your city and start watching at liftoff.
More from China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation ↗
Before you go
- Launch times change — scrubs and delays are common. Re-check the day of.
- Clear skies matter. Low cloud near the pad or along the trajectory can hide the rocket.
- Twilight launches are the most dramatic; daytime launches are the hardest to see at distance.
- Trajectory and timing here are estimates from a representative ascent profile.
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Launch data from TheSpaceDevs Launch Library 2. Page generated July 13, 2026.