Overview
- The U.S. Space Force’s classified USSF-259 mission is set to launch from Vandenberg between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. Pacific Time on Tuesday, Sept. 15, with a matching backup window on Wednesday, Sept. 16.
- Space Force officials described the USSF-259 payload as classified and SpaceX will likely limit post-separation webcast details for that flight.
- The first-stage booster assigned to USSF-259 is making its 13th flight and is expected to return to the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You for a Pacific Ocean landing.
- SpaceX will follow with Starlink 15-27 on Saturday, Sept. 19, to place 27 broadband satellites into low-Earth orbit using a Falcon 9 and a planned drone-ship recovery.
- Residents in Southern California and Arizona may see the rockets and hear sonic booms during the launches and can watch live webcasts that typically begin about ten minutes before liftoff.