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5 clusters · 23 sources · 31 days · First seen · Last updated

SpaceX U.S. Space Force launches from Vandenberg

Overview

SpaceX has conducted several classified U.S. Space Force missions from Vandenberg Space Force Base in September and October 2026.

On September 9, SpaceX scheduled the USSF-153 mission using a Falcon 9 rocket. The mission involved a classified payload, and the company planned to end its live webcast after the first-stage booster landing to protect sensitive information. The booster, B1081, was slated to land on the droneship ‘Of Course I Still Love You’.

On September 25, SpaceX successfully launched the USSF-385 mission from Space Launch Complex 4E. As with previous national security deployments, SpaceX terminated its public webcast shortly after the first-stage booster, B1100, landed on the droneship ‘Of Course I Still Love You’ in the Pacific Ocean. This mission marked the third national security launch conducted by the company from Vandenberg in a 16-day period, following the USSF-153 and USSF-259 missions.

On October 4, SpaceX scheduled the Tranche 1 Transport Layer A (T1TL-A) mission to launch 21 data transport satellites for the U.S. Space Force’s Space Development Agency (SDA). These satellites are part of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA), a distributed constellation designed for orbital observation, missile tracking, and secure communications. After the mission was scrubbed on October 5 when the countdown halted at approximately T−58 seconds, SpaceX successfully launched the 21 Northrop Grumman-built satellites on October 10.

This successful launch delivered the fourth orbital plane for the transport layer. The T1TL satellites are designed to provide resilient, high-volume, and low-latency tactical communications, including Link 16 data links. The SDA expects the initial warfighting capabilities of the Tranche 1 constellation to be realized in 2027.

Entities

SpaceX · Vandenberg Space Force Base · U.S. Space Force · Space Development Agency · Northrop Grumman

Timeline

  1. [TECHNOLOGY] 3 sources
    Space Development Agency launches 21 military communication satellites

    The Space Development Agency launched 21 Northrop Grumman satellites via SpaceX Falcon 9 to bolster its Tranche 1 military communications network in low Earth orbit.

  2. [TECHNOLOGY] 4 sources
    SpaceX scrubs SDA satellite launch from Vandenberg

    SpaceX scrubbed a Falcon 9 launch intended to deploy 21 Space Development Agency satellites for military communications. A rescheduled launch is being targeted for early October.

  3. [TECHNOLOGY] 5 sources
    SpaceX to launch 21 SDA satellites for U.S. Space Force

    SpaceX will launch 21 SDA data transport satellites via a Falcon 9 rocket to build the U.S. Space Force’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture for continuous orbital monitoring.

  4. [TECHNOLOGY] 12 sources
    SpaceX launches classified USSF-385 mission from Vandenberg

    SpaceX launched the classified USSF-385 mission for the U.S. Space Force via a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base, successfully landing the booster on a drone ship after liftoff.

  5. [TECHNOLOGY] 5 sources
    SpaceX to launch USSF-153 classified mission from Vandenberg

    SpaceX is set to launch a classified U.S. Space Force payload via a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base this Thursday morning.

Sources

alephnews.ro · defence-industry.eu · eejournal.com · exterrajsc.com · freerepublic.com · it-boltwise.de · keyt.com · kulturegeek.fr · newspaceeconomy.ca · newssanmiguel.com.mx · noozhawk.com · notiulti.com · nypost.com · offthepress.com · olhardigital.com.br · orbita.zenite.nu · spaceflightnow.com · techgenyz.com · techi.com · technice.com.tw · tecnologia-informatica.com · teslarati.com · world-today-news.com

This summary has been updated 4 times: see revision history