On Wednesday, October 15 at 4:06 p.m. PT, SpaceX launched the Space Development Agency’s (SDA) Tranche 1 data transport mission to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. This was the second of ten Tranche 1 missions Falcon 9 will launch on behalf of the SDA.

This was the seventh flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched SDA T1TL-B Tranche 1 and five Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage landed on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship, which was stationed in the Pacific Ocean.

The space vehicles launched during this mission will provide data transport as a part of SDA’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, a new layered network of satellites in low-Earth orbit and supporting elements that will provide global military tactical communication and missile warning, indication, and tracking capabilities. 

There was the possibility that residents of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura counties may have heard  one or more sonic booms during the launch, but what residents experienced was dependent on weather and other conditions.