All of NASA’s interplanetary launches to date have been from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, in part because the physics of launching off the East Coast are better for journeys to other planets. However, InSight will break the mold on May 5 by launching from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. It will be the first launch to another planet from the West Coast.

A whole new region of the country will get to see an interplanetary launch when InSight rockets into the sky. On a clear day, the launch may be visible from Santa Maria to San Diego.

Weather permitting, InSight’s pre-dawn launch (4:05 a.m.) may be visible for more than 10 million Californians without a need for them to drive to a special location. The rocket’s flare will be visible in the western sky as it travels southward.