Space Force’s USSF-481 Mission Scheduled To Launch From Vandenberg SFB Thursday

VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. (KEYT) – A Falcon 9 launch of the USSF-481 mission from Space Launch Complex 4E is set to launch Thursday, October 15, between 4:44 p.m. and 8:44 p.m. Pacific Time.

A backup launch window has been designated for the same launch complex on the following day, Friday, October 16 starting at 4:35 p.m. Pacific Time.

A live webcast of the launch will begin about ten minutes before liftoff. You can tune in to watch here or on SpaceX's X/Twitter account.

The payload of the U.S. Space Force mission is classified, but its destination is a polar low-Earth orbit.

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 in the image below.

During the launch, there is the potential for sonic booms to be heard across the local region, but how far the sound travels will depend on weather and other conditions at launch time.

This will be the 28th flight for the first-stage booster assigned to this mission. The reusable Falcon 9 rocket previously launched the following missions:Crew-7, CRS-29, PACE, Transporter-10, EarthCARE, NROL-186, Transporter-13, TRACERS, NROL-48, COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation FM3, and 16 prior Starlink launches.