SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg on Sept. 26 on the classified USSF-385 mission. Booster B1096 completed its 10th flight and landed on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You. The flight is believed to deploy Starshield satellites, and images of the payload and second stage were withheld at the customer's request. A Sept. 17 mission, USSF-259, earlier appeared to carry roughly 17 satellites to a different orbit.
SpaceX Launches Classified USSF-385 From Vandenberg; Booster B1096 Completes 10th Flight
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched on Aug. 30 from Florida. A similar launch happened Saturday morning from California. Photo by Joe Marino/UPI
SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Sept. 26, carrying a classified payload for the U.S. Space Force under the mission designation USSF-385.
The Falcon 9 lifted off at 7 a.m. PDT from Space Launch Complex 4-East and flew on a southward trajectory, according to reports from Space Flight Now. SpaceX identified the booster as tail number B1096.
B1096 was flying for the 10th time and successfully returned to land on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean—another example of SpaceX's routine booster reuse.
The mission is believed to be the third in a series to place satellites based on SpaceX's Starshield platform (a government-oriented variant of Starlink) into orbit. SpaceX said its customer requested that images of the payload and the rocket's second stage not be released, so mission details remain limited.
On Sept. 17, a similar mission—USSF-259—flew to a different orbit and appeared to carry about 17 satellites, Space Flight Now reported. Analysts are watching the series for indications of how Starshield hardware will be used for government communications and reconnaissance.
Why it matters: The flight highlights growing commercial partnerships with the U.S. military and continued reliance on reusable rockets to reduce costs and increase launch cadence.
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