Falcon 9 launch of SDA’s Tranche 1 from Vandenberg SFB scheduled for Tuesday afternoon
VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. (KEYT) – A Falcon 9 launch of the Space Development Agency's Tranche 1 data transport mission is scheduled from Vandenberg SFB on Tuesday, Oct. 14 at 4:12 p.m.
A backup launch opportunity was announced for the following day, Wednesday, Oct. 15 at 4:03 p.m. shared SpaceX.
The space vehicle launched during Tuesday's mission will be used to transport data as part of the layered network of satellites in low-Earth orbit known as the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture which provides global tactical military communications and early missile detection capabilities.
This is the second of ten Falcon 9 launches for the Tranche 1 mission on behalf of the Space Development Agency (SDA).
The first launch was on Sep. 9, 2025.
A live webcast of the mission will begin about ten minutes before liftoff and you can watch the launch here or on SpaceX's X/Twitter account.
Following first-stage separation, the booster assigned to this mission will return to Earth to land on the Of Course I Still Love You drone ship awaiting in the Pacific Ocean.
A depiction of that launch sequence is shown below.
There is the potential for one or more sonic booms associated with the launch sequence to be heard across the local region, but how far the sound travels will depend on weather and other factors.
This will be the seventh flight for the Falcon 9 assigned to this mission which previously launched SDA's T1TL-B Tranche 1 and five Starlink missions.
