SpaceX Launches Classified USSF-385 From Vandenberg
The flight signals a stepped-up deployment of government-focused Starlink hardware concentrated on the West Coast.
Overview
- The USSF-385 mission lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base early Saturday and was treated as a classified U.S. Space Force launch.
- Officials have not disclosed the payload and the mission is widely reported to carry Starshield-style satellites, a government variant of Starlink hardware.
- Falcon 9 first stage B1100 flew its tenth mission and landed on the droneship Of Course I Still Love You about eight and a half minutes after liftoff.
- September saw an elevated Falcon 9 cadence from Vandenberg, including six launches from SLC-4E this month and rapid pad turnarounds that concentrated West Coast activity.
- The launch lines up with a July Space Force task order for 18 Falcon 9 missions from Vandenberg and with public orbital cataloging that has allowed observers to infer dozens of satellites placed into orbit, a pattern that suggests more classified deployments may follow.