SpaceX is targeting Monday, October 5 for a Falcon 9 launch of the Space Development Agency’s (SDA) fourth Tranche 1 data transport mission to low-Earth orbit (LEO) from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Liftoff is targeted for 1:16 a.m. PT, with a backup opportunity available on Tuesday, October 6 at 1:08 a.m. PT, if needed. This is the fourth of nine Tranche 1 missions Falcon 9 will launch on behalf of the SDA.

A live webcast of this mission will begin about 10 minutes prior to liftoff, which you can watch here and on X @SpaceX. 

This will be the sixth flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched 
NROL-179, SDA-T1TL-E, and three Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on Landing Zone 4 (LZ-4) at Vandenberg Space Force Base.


The space vehicles launched during this mission will provide data transport as part of the SDA’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, a mesh network of optically connected satellites in low-Earth orbit that enable global military tactical communications and missile warning, indication, and tracking capabilities. Falcon 9 will deliver 21 data transport satellites comprising the fourth orbital plane in the SDA’s proliferated LEO architecture.  

There is the possibility that residents of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura counties may hear  one or more sonic booms during the launch, but what residents experience will depend on weather and other conditions.