Tag: LZ-4
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NRO, SpaceX launch reconnaissance satellites from Vandenberg
A long exposure shot showing the ascent of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 East and the return of the booster, 1100, to Landing Zone 4 at Vandenberg Space Force Base during the NROL-105 mission on Jan. 16, 2026. Image: SpaceX Update Jan. 17, 12 a.m. EST (0500 UTC): SpaceX landed its…
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Launch Preview: Launches from China, U.S., and Norway scheduled for upcoming week
Eight orbital launch attempts are scheduled for this week, with SpaceX and Chinese launches comprising a majority of the launch manifest. SpaceX is scheduled to launch two batches of Starlink satellites into the constellation’s Group 6 shell, as well as a batch of reconnaissance satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office. Four rockets will launch from…
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SpaceX deploys NASA’s Pandora, other smallsats amid 1st ‘Twilight’ rideshare mission
NASA’s Pandora spacecraft deploys from SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket roughly 2.5 hours after the liftoff of the Twilight rideshare mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Jan. 11, 2026. Image: SpaceX via livestream Update Jan. 11, 11:33 a.m. EST (1633 UTC): SpaceX completed the deployment of all payloads. SpaceX debuted a new class of rideshare…
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Sentinel-6B ocean monitoring satellite launches aboard Falcon 9
Sentinel-6B, a joint US-European ocean monitoring satellite, launched Sunday aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Liftoff from Vandenberg Space Force Base took place at 9:21 p.m. Pacific time (05:21 UTC on Monday). The Sentinel-6B spacecraft is the second of two Jason Continuity of Service (Jason-CS) missions, launching five years after its sister satellite, Sentinel-6A Michael…
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SpaceX launches Transporter-11 rideshare with 116 payloads
On Friday, Aug. 15, 2024, SpaceX launched the Transporter-11 rideshare mission from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB). Liftoff occurred at 11:56 AM PT (18:56 UTC), 36 minutes into a 53-minute launch window. At the end of the mission SpaceX declared that all payloads were successfully deployed. Payloads were deployed…
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SpaceX has launched the EarthCARE climate research satellite for ESA and JAXA
The joint European-Japanese EarthCARE satellite has begun its mission to improve our understanding of Earth’s climate Tuesday, with a launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California happened at 3:20 PM Pacific Time (22:20 UTC). The Earth Cloud, Aerosol and Radiation Explorer…
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Launch Roundup: Delta IV swan song, Angara test flight from Russia, and three Falcon 9 flights
The second week of April not only has a long-awaited total solar eclipse but also orbital launches from Russia and the United States. Besides the long-awaited NROL-70 Delta IV Heavy finale, there was a test flight of the Russian Angara rocket from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia and a handful of Falcon 9 launches. Delta…
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SpaceX Transporter 9 rideshare features new OTV from Tom Mueller’s Impulse Space
On Saturday, Nov. 11 SpaceX launched the Transporter-9 rideshare mission from launch complex SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB). The rocket lifted off at 10:49 AM PST (18:49 UTC). Deployment of payloads from the second stage to a Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) at an altitude of approximately 520 kilometers began almost an hour after launch,…
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SpaceX Transporter-7 launches 51 payloads, booster return to LZ
SpaceX launched the Transporter-7 rideshare mission from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base. The mission lifted off on Friday, April 14, 2023, at 11:48 PM PDT (06:48 UTC on April 15). Launch suffered a four-day delay from the original schedule, in order to allow time for additional pre-launch checkouts as well…
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SpaceX launches EROS-C3 observation satellite from Vandenberg
SpaceX has launched its 61st and final mission of 2022, this one aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. The EROS-C3 mission lifted off from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at the Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in California on Thursday, Dec. 29 at 11:38 PM PST (07:38 UTC on Dec. 30). This launch deployed the…