SpaceX Targets Tuesday Evening for USSF-627 Launch From Vandenberg
The four-hour window for the Falcon 9 launch of the USSF-627 mission opens at 6:49 p.m. PT on Tuesday at Space Launch Complex 4E. A backup opportunity follows on Wednesday, and SpaceX says sonic booms are possible across three counties.
SpaceX is targeting Tuesday evening for a Falcon 9 launch of the USSF-627 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base, the company says. The four-hour launch window opens at 6:49 p.m. PT at Space Launch Complex 4E, and a backup opportunity is available on Wednesday at 6:35 p.m. PT.
The mission was first targeted for Monday evening, with a window opening at 7:03 p.m. PT, before the attempt moved to Tuesday. USSF-627 is a classified satellite deployment mission for the U.S. Space Force, according to SpaceX, and the company has published no details about the payload it will carry.
The first stage booster supporting the mission will fly for the seventh time, after earlier flights that included the NROL-179, SDA-T1TL-E and SDA-T1TL-A missions and three Starlink launches, SpaceX says. After stage separation, the booster is scheduled to land on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship in the Pacific Ocean.
A live webcast is scheduled to begin about 10 minutes before liftoff, on the company's mission page and on its X account. Whether anyone on the ground hears the sonic booms SpaceX says are possible will depend on the weather and other conditions. The counties where booms may be heard are Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura.
Tuesday's attempt follows Friday's USSF-432 mission from the same complex, also flown by a Falcon 9 for the Space Force. Launch targets at Vandenberg change often, and SpaceX updates the mission page as the countdown approaches.
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