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The SpaceX Falcon 9 is set to launch from Florida at 9.33pm UK time Picture: AP PHOTO/DAVID J. PHILLIPCopyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Watch out for SpaceX rocket in the skies tonight

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A rocket from Elon Musk’s SpaceX may be visible above Suffolk and north Essex later tonight - if the skies remain clear.

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Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley will be onboard the rocket heading for the International Space Station Picture: NASA/KIM SHIFLETT/PA WIRE

SpaceX are launching a Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida at around 9.33pm UK time.

If the skies remain cloud-free, the rocket will be visible around 15 to 20 minutes after launch - which could be between 9.48pm and 9.53pm.

The rocket will fly from west to east, look like a bright star and may be visible for around three to four minutes.

However, SpaceX have said there is a 40% chance the launch could be pushed back to next weekend if today’s weather conditions are not suitable for take-off.

The Falcon 9 will be the first SpaceX rocket containing crew members that will launch into space.

Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, two of NASA’s most experienced astronauts, are set to be the first Americans in nine years to be sent into space in American-made rockets on American soil.

They will board the International Space Station, where they will spend between 30 days and four months in orbit above Earth.

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MORE: Stunning trail of satellites spotted over Suffolk

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