Tag: Vandenberg Space Force Base
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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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Firefly Aerospace Unveils Block II Upgrade for Alpha Rocket Ahead of Flight 7
Firefly Aerospace said it has introduced a Block II configuration upgrade for its Alpha launch vehicle, aiming to improve reliability, streamline production and enhance launch operations as demand grows across commercial, civil and national security missions. The U.S.-based space and defense company said Alpha Flight 7, targeted for launch in the coming weeks, will be…
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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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Dept. of the Air Force opens bidding for Space Launch Complex 14 at Vandenberg SFB
Vandenberg SFB Guardians and Airmen supported the NASA Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites (TRACERS) mission launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base, July 23, 2025. At the forefront of space operations at Vandenberg, the safety team ensures minimal risk for safe, reliable…
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SpaceX launches Transporter 14 rideshare mission
SpaceX’s next mission as part of its Transporter small payload rideshare program, Transporter 14, launched from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Monday, June 23, at 2:25 PM PDT (21:25 UTC), following a 24 hour weather delay. The launch window extended until 3:15 PM PDT (22:15 UTC). After…
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Launch Roundup: Rocket Lab launches 65th Electron, SpaceX launches four missions
SpaceX continued to dominate the launch manifest with four missions this week, including SXM-10, and three Starlink launches from various locations around the globe. Additionally, Rocket Lab conducted its 65th Electron flight, transporting the BlackSky Gen-3 satellite to orbit on the “Full Stream Ahead” mission. Meanwhile, China launched a Chang Zheng 6A to a polar…
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The company with the world’s largest aircraft now has a hypersonic rocket plane
Stratolaunch has finally found a use for the world’s largest airplane. Twice in the last five months, the company launched a hypersonic vehicle over the Pacific Ocean, accelerated it to more than five times the speed of sound, and autonomously landed at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Stratolaunch used the same vehicle for both…
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The company with the world’s largest aircraft now has a hypersonic rocket plane
Stratolaunch has finally found a use for the world’s largest airplane. Twice in the last five months, the company launched a hypersonic vehicle over the Pacific Ocean, accelerated it to more than five times the speed of sound, and autonomously landed at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Stratolaunch used the same vehicle for both…
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Firefly’s rocket suffers one of the strangest launch failures we’ve ever seen
Firefly Aerospace launched its two-stage Alpha rocket from California early Tuesday, but something went wrong about two-and-a-half minutes into the flight, rendering the rocket unable to deploy an experimental satellite into orbit for Lockheed Martin. The Alpha rocket took off from Vandenberg Space Force Base about 140 miles northwest of Los Angeles at 6:37 am…
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Firefly Alpha launches FLTA006 Message In A Booster mission but fails to reach orbit
Firefly Aerospace launched its Alpha rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, but the mission failed to reach orbit. The Alpha FLTA006 mission, named “Message In A Booster,” launched on Tuesday, April 29, at 6:37 AM PDT (13:37 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 2 West (SLC-2W) during a 52-minute launch window. The attempt was…