Updated 10:35 a.m. EDT: SpaceX cancels Aug. 31 attempting to launch the Tranche 0B mission due to engine trouble. Crews are troubleshooting and launch is now scheduled for no earlier than 7:26 a.m. PDT (10:26 a.m. EDT / 1426 UTC) on Friday. This booster, B1063, has flown 12 previous missions, starting with the launch of Sentinel-6. in 2020 November 21 in 2023 July 7 it recently launched a batch of 48 Starlink satellites on the Starlink Group 5-13 mission.
Update: SpaceX has adjusted the launch time for this mission. The new T-0 liftoff is now set for 8:25 PDT (11:25 EDT, 1525 UTC). This is the end of the launch window for Thursday, August 31st. If necessary, September 1. 7:26 a.m. PDT (10:26 a.m. EDT / 1426 UTC) is a possibility.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch 13 Tranche 0 demonstration satellites for the US military’s Space Development Agency (SDA). Liftoff from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California is scheduled for 7:26 a.m. PDT (10:26 a.m. EDT / 1426 UTC).
The launch is the second Falcon 9 mission for SDA’s demonstration spacecraft for a constellation of future military missile tracking and data communications satellites. The constellation’s ten satellites were launched on April 2. Falcon 9. Four more satellites are planned to be launched in a later mission by the Missile Defense Agency, according to an SDA fact sheet.
The Falcon 9 has 11 communications satellites that are part of what the SDA calls the “Transport Layer” and two satellites for the so-called “Tracking Layer.”
The Falcon 9 first stage booster, on its 13th flight, will return to Vandenberg Landing Area 4 about seven and a half minutes after launch.
