SpaceX is gearing up for another classified U.S. Space Force mission: Watch the USSF-153 launch live
SpaceX is targeting Thursday, September 10, for its next Falcon 9 flight. Dubbed USSF-153, it will be a classified national security mission for the U.S. Space Force.
Watch the launch live
The three-hour launch window on Thursday will open at 8:37 a.m. PDT (11:37 a.m. EDT). There is also a backup launch window on Friday, September 11, at 8:23 a.m. PDT (11:23 a.m. EDT) in case the launch is not possible on Thursday. The launch venue is Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. You can catch the live webcast of the launch, which will start around 10 minutes before liftoff, on SpaceX's official website and their Twitter channel. SpaceX has said that residents in Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Luis Obispo counties may hear sonic booms during the launch, depending on the weather conditions.
The USSF-153 mission will be the 27th flight of the assigned Falcon-9 first-stage booster, which has an impressive history of successfully launching Crew-7, CRS-29, PACE, and 16 Starlink missions. After the stage separation takes place, the booster will be recovered by SpaceX after it lands on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship located in the Pacific Ocean.
SpaceX's $1.6 billion deal with the U.S. Space Force
While no details about the payload have been provided, given the classified nature of the mission, it may have something to do with the $1.6 billion in orders from the U.S. Space Force that SpaceX won in July this year. As part of the deal, SpaceX is required to launch a total of 18 Falcon 9 missions through 2027, carrying satellites for detecting and targeting airborne objects. All these launches will take place from pad 4E at the Vandenberg Space Force Station, which, as noted earlier, is also the venue for the launch on Thursday.
Falcon 9 to launch 18 more missions for the @USSpaceForce by September 2027 from pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base https://t.co/6OKcqccyJd
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) July 30, 2026
SpaceX's last mission for the U.S. Space Force, dubbed USSF-366, launched from pad 4E on August 15 this year. It was the 18th flight for the booster, which had previously supported NROL-126, Transporter-12, SPHEREx, NROL-57, and 13 Starlink missions. After the completion of stage separation, the booster landed on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship—the same destination as the one that will fly the USSF-153 mission.
