A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying 10 military satellites, was launched on April 2 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, including two SpaceX-built satellites.
Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, saw the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on April 2 at 10:29 a.m. Eastern. The rocket carried 10 military satellites, including two that SpaceX had developed.
In order to expedite the integration of commercial space technologies into military systems, the U.S. Space Force established the Space Development Agency (SDA) to build a new constellation for missile monitoring and military communications. The mission to low Earth orbit marks the first launch of this constellation.
This mission was initially scheduled to be launched on March 30 by SpaceX, but the launch was canceled three seconds before takeoff. According to the manufacturer, one of the first-stage engines caused the automated abortion. According to SDA, the launch was postponed for a few more days in order to look into any launch vehicle technical concerns.
Tranche 0 of SDA's widely distributed low-earth orbit constellation was launched on Sunday. These were the first ten of 28 satellites in Tranche 0, which are dedicated to tracking missiles and transporting data.
About eight minutes after liftoff, the booster returned to Landing Zone 4 at the launch site after performing three engine burns and splitting from the second stage after two and a half minutes of flight. This was the 183rd first-stage booster recovery carried out successfully by SpaceX.
