SpaceX is targeting a one-hour launch window opening at 6:30 a.m. ET Tuesday, October 20, for its Bandwagon-5 rideshare mission from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

The Falcon 9 rocket is carrying 32 payloads, including satellites and reentry vehicles, and the pre-dawn timing puts it squarely in the zone that produces the so-called 'space jellyfish' — a glowing, tentacle-like exhaust plume lit by sunlight while the ground below remains dark.

A space jellyfish occurs when a rocket climbs into sunlight while observers below are still in darkness or twilight: exhaust gases and ice crystals expand high in the atmosphere and are illuminated by the sun, forming a bulb-shaped cloud with wispy trails that resemble tentacles.

Florida Today explains the effect requires the ground to be dark while the Falcon 9 ascends into the day's first light, and that it can last several minutes and in some cases remain visible over an hour later.

According to Orlando Sentinel, Tuesday's target is just under an hour before the 7:26 a.m. sunrise, closely matching the lighting that produced the most recent display.

The most recent jellyfish came on October 13, when a Falcon 9 launched NASA's CRS-35 Dragon cargo mission at 6:33 a.m. EDT from the same pad, delivering about 6,300 pounds of science and supplies to the International Space Station.

Orlando Sentinel reports the expanding plume was visible among clear skies all the way to Washington, D.C., with local photographers calling the cloud formation over the launch site among the most impressive ever seen. Earlier in 2026, a 5:21 a.m.

July 9 Falcon 9 launch produced 'space jellies' seen in Tallahassee, Naples and St. Augustine, per Florida Today.

Bandwagon-5 was originally scheduled for Monday, October 19, but SpaceX postponed the flight a day, citing unfavorable recovery weather conditions in the Atlantic where the first-stage booster is set to land — not any issue with the rocket.

According to Orlando Sentinel, the Space Launch Delta 45 weather squadron had forecast only a 55% chance of good conditions Monday, though weather remains a moderate concern for the downrange recovery.

Crucially, the 24-hour slip preserved the pre-dawn window: a launch pushed further into daylight would have eliminated the jellyfish effect entirely, since the plume needs darkness on the ground to stand out.

The mission marks the 19th flight of the first-stage booster, which previously launched SpaceX and NASA's Crew-9 mission, Firefly's Blue Ghost Mission 1, Fram2 and multiple Starlink flights, and will aim to land on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas.

Fox 35 Orlando reports the 32 payloads include cubesats, microsatellites and reentry vehicles.

The Sunday Guardian details the manifest: 31 customer payloads plus SpaceX's Starfall reentry capsule, including four HawkEye 360 radio-frequency monitoring satellites, four Iceye communications satellites, six Xona Space Systems navigation satellites and Varda Space Industries' W-Series 7 spacecraft.

SpaceX's webcast begins about 15 minutes before liftoff.

Nothing is guaranteed: cloud cover, the exact liftoff minute within the hour-long window and the southeasterly trajectory will all determine whether viewers see a repeat performance.

Florida Today notes a southeast-trajectory launch could be visible as far south as West Palm Beach and as far north as Jacksonville Beach depending on the path, with the best views along the Space Coast from spots like Playalinda Beach, Space View Park in Titusville and Jetty Park.

WKMG is inviting readers to submit photos of any jellyfish for its website and on-air coverage.