We were welcomed at the Hyatt Place Cape Canaveral’s Altitude360 Sky Bar & Observation Deck to view SpaceX’s 490th Falcon 9 rocket launch on Friday morning. The rocket carried 23 Starlink V2 Mini satellites into low Earth orbit, launching at 11:29 a.m. after a weather delay earlier in the week. Fortunately, conditions were perfect this morning.

Guests began gathering about 10 minutes before liftoff. Even though the bar hadn’t officially opened yet, we were offered ice water to cool down, a much-appreciated offering when you’re not use to Floridian weather!

Watching the launch in person was unforgettable. As my daughter described it, we saw a “fireball” streak across the sky. Then, minutes later, we experienced the loud, thunderous sonic boom—a phenomenon caused by the shock waves produced as the rocket exceeded the speed of sound. Though the rocket had long disappeared from view, the sound caught up with us, echoing across the sky. It’s similar to the pressure waves created by a ship cutting through water.

If you can’t make it to the launch pad itself, we highly recommend viewing a launch from the rooftop. It’s the next best thing to being right there.

For future launches: spaceflightnow.com/launch-schedule/