SpaceX Targets Tonight’s Vandenberg Launch of Italy’s CSG-3 on Falcon 9
The mission follows December delays for additional ground system checkouts.
Overview
- Liftoff is scheduled for 6:09 p.m. PT from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base.
- An FAA operations advisory lists a backup opportunity on Saturday if the attempt is postponed.
- Falcon 9 will deploy the CSG-3 Earth-observation satellite for the Italian Space Agency into low Earth orbit.
- The mission shifts what had been the final California flight of 2025 to become SpaceX’s first West Coast launch of 2026.
- A southern flight path may make the rocket difficult to see from Arizona.